The Secrets Left Untold
by Wammy'sGirlForever96
Summary: She was dead- so how is she still challenging him? When she turns up at the Task Force with a bag at hand, can L trust her enough to work with him on the investigation? And what's the deal with this new girl at Wammy's? A LxOC and NearxOCxM story
1. Prologue

**Me: This is my first story on FanFiction so be nice!**

**L: But, if they were to be 'nice', your work won't improve.**

**Me: I don't mind criticism but what I mean is don't be too mean about it -.-**

**L: But what if it's rubbish?**

**Me: ... Just do the disclaimer -.-**

**L: She doesn't own Death Note otherwise I wouldn't be dead. She, however, owns any additional character mentioned in the story. **

**Me: Enjoy! :D**

**L: If it's well written.**

**Me: -throws strawberries at L- SHUT UP!**

* * *

**Prologue**

**Rule I- The name who is written in this notebook shall die**

Death. It wasn't something that I would commonly think about. From my point of view, we live our lives giving ourselves purpose in this world. We are born, we learn, we gain, and on many occasions, we love. Many people live ordinary lives as ordinary people until they are cruelly ripped away from the world leaving the people who have many years ahead of them grieving.

Once a person's life span has reached its ends, it is supposedly decided where they are fated to spend their afterlife: will it be Heaven or Hell? Or perhaps they were to remain a lost soul amongst the living. This is supposedly what happens. However, many people have different views on the matter. Reincarnation, Evolution, Heaven and Hell... There were endless possibilities.

Until a lowly teenage boy was to decide the fate of others.

World-wide, people were stripped of their faith. The never-ending list cut short. And this disgusted me. It disturbed me how an 'ordinary' person could handle such a horrific burden on their back and just simply shrug it off like Kira did. During the short time where Kira had reigned, I had come to the conclusion that Kira wasn't mentally sound. Like many geniuses of history, he was misunderstood. He wanted the best for the world, but it meant he would go to any measures to get what he wanted.

This is why I am neither for nor against Kira.

Unfortunately, in the end, we all die. No one could live forever. And once their life-span was up, there was no way to reanimate the dead, right?

* * *

"Ryuzaki?" The incompetent detective interrupted the raven-haired man's train of thought. His eyes burned into the screen in front of him. He was exhausted, but afraid to admit it. Holding back a yawn expertly, he swivelled his chair around to look at Matsuda.

"What is it, Matsuda?"He grumbled. His voice was flat- as it always was.

"Have you ever... Well, y'know, been in love?"

"Matsuda! Don't ask something so personal!" Light scolded the older man. "I doubt Ryuzaki would _want _to discuss it with _you _any-"

"Yes." He mumbled.

"What!"

* * *

**Rule II- All humans, no matter what they do in life, will go to the same place when they die. All humans are equal in life. Once dead, they can never be brought back.**

It sounded plausible. Why would one want to bring the person back from the dead when one has purposefully killed them in the first place? However, I wished to know more. Did these rules only apply to the Death Note or in general?

Could it be rendered possible to bring another human being back to life?

Of course, it wasn't something I would regularly think about. But I wondered if anyone had even attempted to look into it. It seemed unlikely that you could extend someone's life-span, after all. And if such a discovery was to be made world-wide, havoc would rise. People from all around the world will abuse these powers. Bringing back their loved ones, bringing back those that they believed didn't deserve to die. Until, eventually, the world would be largely overpopulated. Food and energy sources will rapidly run out and life-spans would naturally be cut short.

And nothing will be left to keep Earth going.

So I was grateful nobody had attempted to research into it; for even I would take advantage of its abilities. And that wouldn't make me any better than Kira, would it?

We are all human. And we all long for the impossible. Is that such a bad thing?

* * *

"Well Ryuzaki- I really didn't expect you to be the romanticist type." Light smirked in the flickering light being produced from the computer behind L. Ignoring the teen, L scooped a heaped teaspoon of sugar and poured it into his bitter drink one after the other. He brought the steaming cup to his lips and lightly sipped his sickly sweet coffee.

"Well, Ryuzaki? Are you going to tell us about her?" Matsuda's eyes lit up in excitement as he gazed down at his idol. L tucked his knees tighter to his chest and rested his cup on the tray facing away from the Task Force. "...Or _him_?" Matsuda gulped scratching the back of his neck. Aizawa emerged from the sofa behind Light and lunged for Matsuda.

"Matsuda you IDIOT! Will you stop asking Ryuzaki about his personal life and get on with the case!" he groaned. Aizawa's temper seemed to be easily lost when Matsuda would begin to babble about love and fame and all that superficial crap.

"Easy there, Aizawa!" Light chuckled. "I've got to admit, even _I'm _growing interested about Ryuzaki's little love affair." Matsuda childishly stuck his tongue out at his colleague before returning to his feet ready to question L further. After half an hour of fiercely interrogating the poor man, L finally broke.

"Matsuda, you should really be with Misa Amane right now, correct?" L stressed turning to Matsuda tiredly. He shook his head.

"Nope. She hasn't got anything scheduled for today. Well, except that date with Light." He looked over to Light and winked before continuing. "Just tell us, Ryuzaki." He moaned into L's ear.

"Fine." He sighed staring scornfully at Matsuda. "We were both young, and I was foolish. Before I could declare anything to her, she was involved in a terrible case that ended up taking her life. And a case that encouraged me to take my current place as the best detective in the world." He rushed through the details. His heart sank deeper and deeper with each word he spoke.

"Oh..." Matsuda was speechless. Light gazed over to L who had hunched even further forward into his seat. He returned to the computer and began vigorously typing. Light felt guilty.

L was human. He had feelings, and he had a past. Just like everyone else. And it was wrong for everyone to think otherwise.

* * *

Reanimating the dead or even preventing it- extending life beyond its limits. A crazy thought. But it wasn't impossible as such.

But to think that I would stumble across something that could make such a feat possible would be ludicrous. Perhaps even stupid even to prevent my own, or my beloved's death...

After all, I'm here now aren't I? But can I safely say the same for him?

This is S signing out.

* * *

**Review please! x**


	2. Chapter 1: Filling in the Grey

L's P.O.V

Every morning, I follow the same routine. I drowsily rise from my make-shift bed in the taskforce whilst Watari watches over the slumbering Light (after all, even I need sleep) after having approximately 2 hours sleep. I'll retire to the bathroom, quickly brush my teeth, and if possible, have a quick shower before Light Yagami wakes up. Then I'll sit (or rather crouch) into my seat in front of the ever so bright monitors and check the building's security cameras. Light will then awake to see me in the same spot he had watched me work in the night before- as if I had never moved.

The whole agenda seemed to be quite trivial. Following the same pattern day in and day out just so Light would be fooled into thinking that I never slept. However, if Light was to learn my sleeping patterns instead of thinking that I never sleep (which would be quite foolish to think so) he could adapt his sleeping patterns in a way where he could roam freely without me knowing. Which could be dangerous considering I suspected him of being Kira. Watari would just watch over him as a precaution to him waking up suddenly. It was easy to do.

I feel the metal chain my wrist tugging me back gently- alerting me that Light was awake. 7:00am sharp. "Morning Ryuzaki." Light yawned, his voice hoarse. "Anything new today?" I would shake my head get on with the day. Which didn't consist of much except observing and thinking.

However, on this occasion, I couldn't concentrate on my usual agenda.

"Ryuzaki." Watari's signature 'W' appeared on the bright screen in front of me.

"What is it, Watari?" No answer. Light stretched out his arms before retreating to my side listening intently. "Watari?" I repeated.

"Misa Amane seems to have brought visitors into the building." My curious ears perked up. Misa knew having visitors, without my permission, was forbidden on all circumstances. What made this time different?

"I presume Matsuda let them in?" I stressed knowing fully well he had been with the blonde all day. _Stupid Matsuda. _"Please bring Misa Amane up to the top floor. I have much desire to speak with her."

"Yes, Ryuzaki." he confirmed before coming offline. I rested on the palms of my hands staring down and the remnants of my dessert. My ice cream had melted into a pool of cold and sticky slop in the middle of the bowl. _Perfect._ I pushed it to the aside slightly put off (And I mean slightly).

"Remind me why we're keeping Misa around? She is of no relevance to the Kira investigation anymore." Light snapped. I felt his eyes fixated on the side of my head. "Besides, all she has done so far is cause havoc. And I believe it could be harmful to the case"

"No, Light. You just do not like her." I sighed placing my hands on my knees and looking at the boy. "You know very well that she has quite a lot to do with the Kira investigation. Plus, knowing Misa Amane's tendency to run her mouth, it is dangerous to let her leave. She may leak information about the investigation." He muttered a few words under his breath before slinging himself onto the sofa.

"If you say so, Ryuzaki. But I doubt she'll be of any use." he snorted watching the door waiting for his 'lover' to walk in any minute.

Although Light Yagami had made it painfully clear that the love shared between Misa and himself was completely one-sided, it still left me obligated to look further into their relationship. Because if he had no romantic feeling for her in the first place, why did he bother with her? Or is Misa Amane your typical stalker type? No- I believe there was more to it than that.

Watari pushed the door ajar letting the bouncy blonde into the HQ. Misa smiled contently at Light before practically leaping into his arms. "Hey Light-kun! Did you miss me?" she cooed. Light edged away slowly as she approached him in a brisk movement grabbing tight of his arm.

"Misa, _please _get off. I'm already attached to Ryuzaki 24/7- I don't need you hanging off me too." he smiled sadly. I stood up slouching over the desks in front of me. I turned to Misa with my thumb gently stroking my bottom lip. Misa trembled under my glare.

"Listen- I know you're probably really angry with me but you've gotta understand-"

"Misa, I would prefer if you were to ask me before bringing company to the Task Force. You know how dangero-"

"Yeah but if you just listen to me for second-""The more you betray my trust, the more I suspect you and Light of-"

"SHE SAYS SHE KNOWS YOUR IDENTITYYYYYY!" she squealed into my ear deafening me. I blinked several times. Silence replaced her high-pitched scream. Misa took a few deep breaths before continuing. "I-I found her outside. She seemed so lost… I asked if she was ok and she asked if Ryuzaki worked here and told me and Matsu how she knew you were L!"

"Huh? Ryuzaki! But- how?" Light said, raising his voice over hers.

"Watari." He looked at me baffled; nobody knew how this woman had come across my identity. For years, my identity had never been made public in any way. Unless someone I had formerly worked with was to betray my trust. However, no one I had previously worked with- with the exception of Watari- knew of my current location. Which left me to ponder one thing: who was this woman?

"I'll go get her, Ryuzaki." Watari bowed before leaving through the grey wooden doors leading down to the stairs. We all sat patiently- waiting for the mystery girl Misa had introduced to the Task Force.

"In the future, Misa, please _don't _escort people to the HQ at the mere mention of L. However- this can be the exception…" I mumbled to myself. The Task Force paced around the room aimlessly as I sat observing. I watched the door intensely.

"Ryuzaki." Watari's voice entered the door along with himself. A petite lady, no taller than 5'4", followed after him. Her face was hidden under the hood of her purple jacket. "She will not speak of how she came to know your identity. She won't speak to anyone but you."

"Huh? That's weird- she spoke to me and Matsu!" Misa furrowed her brows.

"That's because she needed to get into the building. How else was she going to get in?" Light said.

"Not necessarily…" I smirked. "If this woman happened to be surveying the building before Misa and Matsuda came along, she might have been planning to break in. Perhaps to come and speak to me privately?" I tried peeking under the hood of the small woman. She backed away slowly- a small smile gracing her full lips.

"Good observation." she spoke. Chief Yagami looked over at me questioningly as I stared darts into her. "Yes… I was surveying the building. I've been aware of your whereabouts for some time now. But when the young couple her walked passed, I thought it would make more sense to just follow them. Sorry for the inconvenience…" she spoke in honesty.

"Who are you?" Chief Yagami asked in a demanding voice. Her lips curled even more. She twirled an odd strand of long hair in front of her face and crossed her legs.

"Nobody worth mentioning, Mr Yagami. Just a distant memory…"

"How do you know my name!"

"It is nothing out of the ordinary. I happen to know all of your names." She took a few steps forward uncrossing her legs. "You all happen to be on the force with the exception of Light. If I was local to the area, and familiar with the police, I'm going to know all of your names. Personally, I would have brought a team of specialists over. Then nobody would know them. Sloppy work, Ryuzaki." Her lavender eyes came into view as she smiled genuinely at me.

"Who are you, Miss?" I asked trying to recall a face. Her smile faded into a stern look.

"Like I said, I am just a distant memory."

"What brings you here today, Miss…?" Light offered his hand to her flirtatiously.

"I would like to assist you with the Kira Investigation…" her voice gradually gained volume. I arched my eyebrow. _Assist? _

"Very well." I agreed to her stay quickly than anticipated. "Watari, please get her luggage. She can stay in the room across from Misa's." I leaned in towards Light and the girl. "But I think it's fair that you tell us your name. After all, you know ours."

"That's understandable." she leaned back feeling awkward under my stare. "But I'm not giving you my real name. I'm better known as Grey though."

"Grey? Like the colour?" Misa pressed her index finger to her chin. I mentally sighed.

"Yes, Misa." I said. "I would like to speak with you privately at some point today. But first, please take all the time you need to settle in."

"Of course."

"Can't you just tell us your real name?" Light smiled 'cutely' at Grey. She returned a blank stare before pulling her hood down. A full head of neon red and black hair fell onto her shoulders.

"Can't you just tell me your Kira?" she imitated him. "Why else would Ryuzaki have you chained to him?"

"Your observation skills are top-notch." he smiled sheepishly down at her. "But I assure you I'm not Kira!"

"You say it with such sincerity…" she mumbled to herself. "Perhaps you're not Kira _at the moment_. So I will trust you for now."

"Erm are you forgetting he's _my _boyfriend!" Misa freaked. Light grumbled whispering into Grey's ear.

"It's completely one-sided. As I have mentioned on numerous occasions."

"I see." she smirked looking over to Misa. "Do you mind showing me around?"

"Okay! C'mon I'll show you to your room! We're gonna be the best of friends!" she grabbed Grey firmly and dragged her outside and down the stairs. I had never seen someone change their opinion on someone so quickly. Light and I stood there confused. Until I eventually returned to the melted ice cream I had abandoned from before.

"Mmmm…"I licked my lips slurping on the warm ice cream. Light stared over repulsed.

"So how do you know her?" he asked. I shrugged.

"I suppose she must have some connection the cases I have previously worked on. However…" I picked up the bowl and drank the liquid strawberry until it was empty. "I don't recognise her from any of the cases."

"Do you recognise her at all?"

"I do…" I mumbled playing with my bottom lip. "I just don't know where from…"

"Ex girlfriend?" Light joked leaning against the machinery with a large smirk spread across his face. "We all know you're such a ladies man, Ryuzaki."

"If you say so, Light." I sighed pulling the nearest stack of files in front of me and looking through them. I needed to keep my mind busy, other wise my mind will wander back to the thoughts of Grey. She was so familiar- her long black hair and strands of dyed hair that would cover her gorgeous lavender eyes… But at the same time, she looked all so unfamiliar. Could it be possible that she is bluffing to get in on the Kira investigation? But how would she know that I was L?

The only possible way to retrieve such information was to call her on her bluff on whether she really knew me or not.

Grey's P.O.V

I pulled my jacket tight around my bust trying to enclose any heat I still had left in my body. The wind gently bit and my fingers and my head was throbbing. Overall, I felt horrible. Why was I even standing outside the building? I wasn't sure myself. _Why did I even agree to come here in the first place! _I surveyed the building carefully looking for anyway in without triggering any alarms. The last thing I wanted to do was attract _his _attention.

Of course, by him, I mean the infamous detective: L. The same detective that solved case after case with ease. Never having to reveal his face. Until now. The Kira investigation. He had purposefully put his life on the line, regardless to what I told him so many years ago. And I wasn't prepared to let him die.

I was on the verge of giving up and going back to my make-shift apartment. There was the possibility L had relocated by now and that I was about to commit a pointless felony by breaking into this building. I turned on my feet and gradually began walking back around to the front entrance of the car park. I slumped down to the floor crossing my legs to my chest. It was getting colder by the minute and I didn't intend on freezing to death. _It's no use…_I pulled my hood over my head miserably and rested my head on my knees. There was no point going back home when there was nothing to return to, so I stayed there. My eyes no longer keep themselves open.

"Hey, Matsu! When's the next photo shoot again?" a squeaky teenage girl skipping passed said.

"Wednesday, Misa-Misa." the other voice replied. I was caught off-guard- Misa Amane in _this _part of town? The same Misa Amane that mysteriously went missing a few months prior?_ Could just be a coincidence…_ I dismayed it allowing my eyes to shut. I was too tired to deal with anything- I wasn't like L. I couldn't control my sleeping patterns with such expertise and be able to function properly the next morning. I need my sleep. Which I hadn't been getting.

A gentle hand patted on my shoulder and I jumped. I came face to face with a man no older than myself and the ditsy model I heard squawking moments before. He gasped moving back from me like I was some wild animal. "Are you ok, miss?" the he asked me concerned.

"What are you doing, Matsu! Leave the hobo alone!" Misa gawked at me.

"I have a place to stay." I uttered bringing Matsu's attention to me once again. "It's just not home."

"What's your name?" he hunched down to my level. His smile was gentle one, one that could instantly warm you up just like I needed. I opened my mouth to speak, but was rudely interrupted by Misa.

"Ryuzaki isn't going to be happy if we keep him waiting, Matsu!" she tapped her foot. My eyes became two large dishes.

"R-Ryuzaki?" I repeated his name jerking up to my feet knocking Matsu down in the process "I knew it!"

"Huh?" Matsu said also jumping to his feet. "Don't be silly, Misa! Nobody of the name of Ryuzaki works-"

"Don't play dumb with me." I butted in. He stood with his arms interlocked behind his head smiling 'innocently'. I approached him calmly so that I was close enough to whisper in his ear. "Listen- I know who Ryuzaki is. I know that he is L. But I am no threat to the Kira Investigation. All I ask is to meet with him, again." He nodded slowly.

"OH MY GOD YOU KNOW!"

"Misa-Misa be quiet!" Matsu spat. He looked back at me confused. "Ok… I'll take you inside. But do what we ask you!"

"Alright." I agreed with no hesitation.

Mission accomplished. I had located L and his whereabouts. As we went inside, I felt my face flush under the hood of my purple jacket. My light-headed old self was returning once more. I was about to meet L for the first time in years. And hopefully, he hadn't changed as much as I had. And hopefully, he will remember me.

I stood in front of him awe struck (although I didn't appear it). His inky hair still fell the same way it did, his eyes were equally as dark, his was still the lanky man I knew (maybe even taller)- he hadn't changed at all. But circumstances were different. He was surrounded by his Task Force: Aizawa, Mogi, Matsuda (the man I formally knew as Matsu) Chief Soichiro Yagami, and Light Yagami- his son. For once, L wasn't alone.

"That's weird!" Misa stood dumbstruck as usual. "She spoke to me and Matsu!"

"That's because she needed to get into the building. How else was she going to get in?" The teen heart-throb replied from behind me. He seemed decent looking- a good head of light brown hair, tall, tanned- he seemed to be what most teenage girls searched for in their package deal. _I don't like him… He's too fake._ I thought to myself following the long chain that joined him and L together. L's large eyes burned into me when a small smile spread on his lips.

"Not necessarily…If this woman happened to be surveying the building before Misa and Matsuda came along, she might have been planning to break in. Perhaps to come and speak to me privately?" I couldn't help but smile. His deductive skills were still polished to perfection.

"Good observation." I smiled cunningly at him.

"Who are you?" Soichiro asked.

"No one worth mentioning, Mr. Yagami. Just a distant memory…" I twiddled my hair nervously.

"How do you know my name!" I was unwilling to tell them about how I had stumbled across a few stray files back at the precinct. The last thing I wanted at the moment was L lecturing his workers about sloppy work. Also, I had deleted the files soon after reading them.

"It's nothing out of the ordinary. I happen to know all of your names. You all happen to be on the force with the exception of Light. If I was local to the area, and familiar with the police, I'm going to know all of your names. Personally, I would have brought a team of specialists over. Then nobody would know them. Sloppy work, Ryuzaki." I teased him. His thin lips curled even more. He looked at me fascinated before taking a few steps towards me. Our faces inches apart from meeting once again. Such everlasting tension that I had missed ever since we parted years before.

"Who are you, Miss?"

I felt my heart lurch deep into my chest as the tension drained away. The words hitting me like a ton of bricks. His eyes were serious- he wasn't kidding. He had truly forgotten me. Or maybe I was no longer the person I once was? My smile faded into a look of seriousness. Although, inside hurt was tearing me apart. But I had always been hard to read- even in L's eyes. "Like I said, I'm just a distant memory…"

One thing led to another and I ended up telling them my alias- Grey. It wasn't my original alias, but if L couldn't remember who I was, then it was probably not the best time to let him know I was alive and well by revealing it. It would probably shock him beyond belief. Misa, who took a liking to me soon after I spoke to Light, showed me around the building. Even though I already knew it inside and out.

Watari ended up taking me to my room. I smiled- another man I hadn't seen for a long time. He taught me my keypad number (which wasn't that hard to memorise) and left me to do as I please after bidding me farewell.

I entered the numbers into the keypad provided. _1319960214... Easy. _The pad beeped and the door flung open revealing the sickly green walls inside. Feeling physically sick, I snuck inside and looked around the room. _Green walls, green pillows, green sheets… Disgusting. _There was a suitcase on the bed side that seemed to be overflowing with clothes. Inside it, there was a large collection of Misa-Misa brand clothes. Filled with blacks and reds and purples. As much as I hated to admit it, I liked the gothic Lolita style Misa Amane had gone for. It was different and rebellious, but at the same time, feminine and not too over the top. A little pink not was tied to the handle with a bit of string:

_Dear Grey,_

_If you're going to be a model, you're better off looking the part! (wink wink nudge, nudge!) _

_Love your new best friend!_

_Misa-Misa x_

"A model?" I said aloud ridiculing the idea. I began unpacking Misa's gifts into the wardrobe sorting them out into colour-coded categories and then placing them inside. After about half an hour, I was finished. "Done and dusted!" I declared clapping my hands together.

"I can see that." I squeaked backing into the wardrobe and staring at my new visitor. It was L. _I guess he wants that talk with me now… _"Are you busy?"

"Obviously not, as you just pointed out, Ryuzaki." I smirked putting all my weight on to one side of my body.

"Ah yes." he crawled up onto my bed screwing up the nauseating colours on my bed. He stared at my me with his thumb outlining his bottom lip. "Are you settling in alright?"

"Just fine." I said. "Although… Can we change the colour of this room? I _hate _green." He chuckled lightly.

"Yes, of course." He leapt out in front of me becoming inches away from my pale face. "Now, Grey… Who are you?"

"I'm Grey."

"I know that. I mean who _are _you?" He looked up at me with his back hunched. His big rounded eyes almost pleaded me to tell him. _No… It isn't the appropriate time. _I looked away from him blankly staring at the walls behind him.

"Nobody, now. I am nobody." I whispered to him.

"Obviously you are. Now, are you going to tell me or am I going to have to kick you?" he smiled inwardly. I also let a smirk spread across my face understanding the joke perfectly well. I stayed silent nevertheless. I hid nothing but frown and retreat to the bed. "…Perhaps if I ome back later and you are more willing to tell me?"

"How do you know you can trust?" I questioned meeting his gaze half way.

"You seem to have no inferior motive. And if you and I are to have met before, then I see no point in questioning our trust any further." he got off the bed once again and left it in a state. "However, it doesn't seem you trust me very much at all."

"N-no it's not that." I frowned at him. "It's just hard to explain." He gave a brief nod before heading towards the door. "Law- I mean- Ryuzaki." He stopped in his tracks, turning around slowly. He had spotted by mistake, but yet, remained moderately calm. That was when I realised that he had had the room bugged before hand. Anything he said or did could give away his identity quite easily. He looked at me slightly baffled. _Oops… _

"What is it, Grey?" he asked dropping his hand from his mouth.

"Just…" I paused. "Keep your promise, L. Don't do anything stupid like I did."

And with that, he left. I had done everything I could to make him aware of who I was (which I was pretty confident he knew now). But as to _why I am here,_

_I guess he would have to fill in the grey._


	3. Chapter 2: Never Forgotten

__**Author's Note- Hello uys- sorry for the late update I've been really busy. Here's Chapter 2- Don't forget to check out the Trick or Treat Poll!**

**_Grey's P.O.V_**

I extended my feet from underneath the fresh purple covers on my bed planting them firmly on the wooden floor under me. I was content with the room- L had only gone and refurbished the whole room to my liking. The covers and pillow cases were a dark purple and the walls black and white. It was- in my eyes- perfect. After all, I was the one who designed it.

I slipped on a pair of pink bunny slippers Misa had lent me until I could my own and threw on my jacket over my pyjamas. Breakfast time. I licked my lips. I was already imagining the luscious super-sized full English breakfast I hadn't had in years. The same one Watari would make for the children at Wammy's.

Every morning, Watari and the staff would prepare breakfast for us. We all had different tastes- A would have a bowl of banana flakes and a tall glass of apple juice, B would have jam (JUST jam.), D would skip breakfast all together, and I would have the classic fry-up. Consisting of two sausages, three strips of crispy bacon, hash browns and a slightly runny egg. I was a fussy eater, but I ate a lot of what I liked. Very much like a detective I know.

I watched L hunch over his breakfast every morning. He always had his breakfast at an earlier time than the rest of the Wammy kids- I just assumed it was to escape the rush, but regardless to what time he had it, I would observe secretly. He wasn't the healthiest of eaters. He would always have some form of sugary or savoury treat. And when he had breakfast, he always had three times as much as anyone else. It was like a three course meal- only every meal was dessert.

After exiting the elevator, I rushed into the kitchen with a child-like smile spread across my face. "Good morning, Watari!" I sang greeting the elderly man from behind. He greeted me with a warm, welcoming smile before turning around with a tray in his hands.

"Oh my- you are the lively one this morning!" he chuckled walking out of the kitchen with me.

"Well it's only my favourite time of the day- breakfast time!" I giggled peering over Watari's shoulder at the tray he was holding. As I suspected, my breakfast wasn't there. Only L's sitting lonely on a plate. I sighed quietly to myself- of course the man who 'hardly knew' me wasn't going to make me breakfast. To him I was just a colleague. Nothing more.

"Well I'm glad you're in a good mood, Grey." he abandoned the tray on the coffee table placed in the middle of the room. "I know it's a little forward, but where are you from? You don't sound like you're from around here."

"Um… The UK."

"You don't sound so sure of yourself!" he chuckled taking advantage of my size and ruffling my hair.

"S-sorry." I blushed with a small smile. "I just wasn't sure if it was safe telling you."

"It's fine." he nodded leaving to go back to his office. "If you want to talk to me, you know where I am."

"Hai." I replied looking over at L's tray of goodies hungrily. Surely the man couldn't stomach such a sickly sweet meal so early in the morning? Perhaps I should help him finish it… My hand wandered towards the plate of profiteroles when

SLAP.

In shock, I froze looking up at the person that smacked my hand away. "That's probably not a good idea, Grey." Light smiled down at me grabbing the hand he had just assaulted (Hey- it HURT.) and brought it away from L's tray. "L likes his sweets."

"I am aware. But he didn't have to know." I groaned falling back into the sofa behind me. Light smirked sitting down next to me. He was close. Very close. Extremely close. As in if he came a centimetre closer, his nose would be lodged in my ear. I leaned away nervously. He only followed.

"There are a few things he doesn't have to know about." he whispered lunging towards me and knocking me off the sofa. He grappled me to the floor leaving me unable to move my arms and legs. My heart raced. What brought on such an act? He smiled devilishly down at me as he brought his younger face to mine. Struggling to get out of his grip, I head butted him and let out a shrill scream that echoed through the empty room. I was alone. Again.

"Get off, Light!" I whimpered as he brought his hands to my waist and began massaging them roughly. He laughed maliciously bringing his head back down only inches away from mine. Warm blood spurted from his nose onto my frightened face. "SOMEBODY HELP!"

"My dear. No one can hear you in your dreams." he purred into my ear. "Sleep well, darling." Before I had chance to reply, my breath was taken away. Shooting pains ran up my left side. And an unbearable strain in my chest left me weak and lifeless.

I was having a heart attack.

**-Wammy's Orphanage: Winchester-**

"You scored 241 on the test…" Roger batted his eyes before looking down on the small girl he had been challenged with. "That's… Amazing for someone of your age. How old are you again?"

"14..." she choked through hot tears. She hugged her knees tight to her chest and sobbed quietly. "W-what's going to happen know?"

"You're going to stay here- with all the other children."

"What other children?"

"They're all in lessons right now. Everyone will soon be returning to their rooms and where they normally play during the afternoon."

"I see…" she swallowed. Roger was stumped. Watari wasn't to be returning until the investigation was done. Meaning that , for the time being, Roger had to undergo the stress of the children. And since he wasn't experienced with children, especially children with a larger IQ than him, he was clueless to how to console a broken teenaged girl. He had a child of his own, but he had moved out years ago with his wife. So for the time being, all Roger could do was put on his best smile and settle the young girl in.

But in reality, what really worried him was the girl's unfortunate past. And how it was going to effect her upbringing at Wammy's House.

Roger heaved himself up on Watari's wooden desk offering a hand to the girl. "I'll show you to your room," he smiled. "You're going to be sharing with one of our top three."

"But I don't get along with other girls…" her hands tightened into a death grip around Roger's withering hand.

"Now, now. There's no need for that." he pulled her up from the floor standing upright in front of him. "You're not sharing with a girl. You're sharing with our 3rd child in line to succeed L: Matt."

"Alright… Sorry." her gaze wondered to her fingers entwined with the older man's. She wasn't used to being touched. She wasn't used to being safe…

Maybe it was the security that frightened her the most in this place.

_**Matt's P.O.V**_

"God it's pouring down." I said to the dazed blonde slumped over my bed.

"Great observation, idiot." Mello said. His eyes never once pulled away from the books he had sprawled across my bed. I ignored him- of course. There wasn't really any other option _but _to ignore him. You see- Mello was infamous for his short temper and how over-emotional he would get over silly things. I happened to be one in a million- I got on Mello's good side unlike many.

But it didn't mean he didn't lose his rag with me.

So now I'm forced to block everything out. How I do it? Video games. My only weakness (with the exception of cigarettes). But every now and then I'll try and engage in idle chit-chat with him.

"Dude- I can't believe I'm getting a chick as a roommate!" I smiled swiping the book from Mello's view just to have him snatch it back form my grip. "It's gonna be awesome!"

"How is having a girl in here awesome?" he growled turning onto his side. "She's gonna be just like Linda."

"DON'T JINX IT MELLO!"

"Shut up, Matt."

"Fine."

"I mean it."

"Whatever…"

"Boys?" Roger's voice emerged from my bedroom door. "I would like to introduce you to our newest member of Wammy's…"

"Speak of the devil!" I smiled scrambling over to the door and pulling it completely open. Mello leaned forward onto his hands looking in the doorway.

She was a small girl- well when I say girl- I mean _woman_. She was very developed _if you know what I'm saying_. But overall, she was cute. Nice, short, back hair that covered her eyes slightly; big bluish-green eyes that she had expertly framed with black eyeliner; the palest pale I'd ever _seen_; and a very outlandish style of clothing. She was your stereotypical Goth kid. Great…

"Meet Hope." Roger shooed her inside briskly. "Show her around, make her feel at home." And with that- the door slammed into my face. I smiled down at the seemingly older girl and held out my hand out politely for a handshake.

"Yo- I'm Matt. That's Mello" I said. "Do you like video games?" She didn't reply. "Music?" I frowned. No answer. "Cigarettes?"

"Matt!" Mello growled slapping me on the back of the leg. Hard. "She doesn't want to talk so shut up."

"Pokemon." A whisper sounded. Mello and I looked at Hope.

"Pokemon?"

"Pokemon." she repeated looking over to the side shyly. "Guitar Hero, Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy…" she continued for several more games. My heart pounded hard in my chest as I became more excited with every game she mentioned.

I think I loved her.

"Music?" she smiled up at me genuinely. "Marilyn Manson, Bullet For My Valentine, Black Veil Brides, Bring Me The Horizon…" I looked over at Mello expectantly. My hunch was right- he liked the sound of this girl too. Only because of his mildly weird fetish he held for Goth chicks… Ugh.

"Smoking? Unhealthy and pointless."

Ok- so I didn't _love _her.

"Aren't you a little old for Wammy's?" Mello grunted propping himself up on my white wall. "Why would we have any use for you?"

"Mello that's a bit harsh-"

"I'm too old?" she asked smiling cunningly at the boy. "I wouldn't say 14 is old…"

"DUDE!" I bellowed. "You're younger than us!"

"Really?" Mello blinked surprised. "You look 16 easy…"

"I get that a lot." she winked flirtatiously before sliding herself next to Mello on the bed. He smirked slouching closer towards her and lazily offering his hand.

"Mello." he mumbled. She smiled taking his much larger hand in a firm grip.

"Hope."

"Lord…" I muttered.

-Task Force Headquarters: Tokyo-

_**L's P.O.V**_

"Ryuzaki." The computer sounded. "I believe there's a problem."

"What is it, Watari?" I asked.

"It's Grey." he replied. I looked over to the computer slightly surprised (although having no real reason for being surprised). "She seems to be…"

"What?"

"She's having a fit."

I tilted my head to the side concerned before bringing up the CCTV for Grey's room.

There was no doubt about it- Grey was in her room tossing, turning, yelling- all in her sleep. "What the…?"

"She's been like this for the past fifteen minutes, Ryuzaki." Watari said. "She's being yelling all sorts… I'll let you listen."

"Thank you, Watari." I mumbled sinking deeper into the video tape.

"_- Light- get off!-" _she yelled angrily banging furiously on the bed. _"- Stop it! … W-what!-" _

"Huh?" I leaned further onto my knees chewing my thumb nervously.

"_- You're Kira!-" _she gasped. 

"What's happening, Ryuzaki!" Chief Yagami approached me concerned after hearing his beloved son's name mentioned on the tape.

"she yelled even louder. The Task Force surrounded me worriedly. _"-S-shinigami! No- AHHHHHHH!-" _

_A scream I could never forget._


	4. Chapter 3: New Beginnings and Dominoes

**Author's Note- Sorry for the delay of the chapter. I've had exams and everything. **

**L: You should know how important it is to keep on top of your work.**

**Me: Exactly -.- Anyway sorry if the chapter isn't as good- I sort of rushed it. My Trick or Treat poll is still up if you want to check it out :)**

Grey's P.O.V

I threw my arms back and forth trying to release the abnormally strong grip Light had upon me. I remember his smile only growing more menacing as I continued to struggle. I remember the excruciating pain in my chest growing more intense by the second.

And I remember telling myself: I'm going to live.

And then I woke up in a cold sweat.

My eyes were blurred; my head ached terribly and- yet the ache that had overpowered me just moments before had disappeared.. _Was it… Was it just a dream? _The covers crinkled as I sat my self upright turning on the small lamp on my wooden bedside table. I looked over to the clock on the wall: 11:00pm. An hour's sleep at most. _I suppose I might as well stay up. _I thought to myself. L's voice echoed through the plastered walls: _"-Grey!-" _he yelled in distress.

"Sweet Jesus!" I toppled sideways out of my bed knotted in my fluffy covers. "Yes?"

Silence.

I chewed nervously on my lip under the ball of purple covers I had shielded myself in. The sharpness of L's voice made my blood run cold. There was something seriously wrong for him to shout like that.

Maybe I was the one in the wrong.

"_-… I need to speak with you regarding your identity.-" _he beckoned me in a softer tone of voice. I nodded heaving the covers off of me and hurling them onto my bed.

As sudden as his demands were, I accepted them with grace. Sometime or later, he was going to figure out who I was. He was L: world's greatest detective- could I really be expected to sneak passed him without getting caught. Then again, I _wanted _him to find out who I was, right? But what would be the consequences of him finding out my real identity? I anticipated his reaction patiently knowing that only the worse could come from what I had done.

I walked in hastily to see L stood up his shackles hanging loosely from his thin wrists. He bluntly stared into me- observing every inch of my face. "You wanted me?" I asked anxiously avoiding the concerned look the Task Force seemed to be wearing.

"Yes, Grey." he mumbled rudely yanking Light forward with his chain. "I believe I am now aware of who you are, your background, your past…" Matsuda gently pushed me forward into L who reached his hand out towards my face. I flinched- direct contact wasn't something I was too fond of in a situation as delicate as this one. "Although I am aware of _who _you are…" he continued on. "I want to know _how _you are."

"I'm sure she's fine, Ryuzaki!" Matsuda looked dumbfounded at the raven haired man. Soichiro sighed exasperatedly and pulled Matsuda aside.

"I'm sure Grey knows what I mean." L frowned. "Correct?"

"It's not important…" I said timidly. "All that matters is that I'm here to provide you with my abilities, Ryuzaki…" He shook his head.

"It may not be important to the case, but it's important to me. So I shall ask of a later date." A glint of hope twinkled in the young man's eyes as he gazed ponderously into my own. "Task Force, meet S." he smiled faintly bestowing me to our colleagues. "However, you are to call her by her alias as you do with me."

"So Grey?" Aizawa said.

"No." I replied kindly. "That's more of an alias of my alias- like Ryuuga is for Ryuzaki. You may call me Shadow- nice to meet you again…"

Winchester: Wammy's House

Hope's P.O.V

"Is that the last of it?" Matt sighed wiping his forehead after setting one of the few boxes I owned on his wooden floors. I nodded and smiled graciously at him. He smirked craftily at me as I gazed dreamily out of his frosted windows.

It was quite a spectacular view for an orphanage- the woods just outside the building framed the sunset perfectly even during the harsh and cold winter weather. Snow landed gently on the blanket it had formed on the ground remaining untouched by the anti-social orphans- such as myself- that remained inside. And it saddened me.

Children weren't supposed to act mature. Children weren't supposed to be polite or sit indoors for the little time they had to _be _achild. So why were the children so reluctant to acting their age? That was the reason I adored Matt so.

I didn't hold any passionate feelings towards the older boy. But his free-spirited personality and childish obsession for computer games could even purify my corrupted soul. Mello, on the other hand, worried about letting his inner child peek through. He did, however, sulk and hold grudges towards a few dozen of the students at Wammy's.

But all I urged for in this morbid household was for one child to pick up a toy.

"Hope?" I flinched. My thoughts interrupted by Matt's large hand waving in front of my face.

"Huh? What?" I mumbled.

"_I said _would you like to go meet some of the other children?"

"No." I frowned. "I'd rather just talk to you all day…"

"That's cute- but you can't just sit with me all day everyday- as much as I would like that…" a faint pink coloured flushed his face. "You have to be a little more social if you want to leave this place with your sanity. So please?"

"Alright…" I resigned picking up my cat, Van Gogh, and passing him to the redheaded gamer-freak. "Can we bring Van?"

"Erm ok…"

"Thanks." I smiled making my way to the bedroom door and drifted through empty corridors eventually losing sight of Matt and my sense of direction. Almost silent footsteps could be heard in one of the rooms a few doors down. Curious to see who it was, I quietly creaked open the door to see who was inside. A crowd of 4 or 5 children graced me each smiling eagerly.

"Good afternoon!" The I knew famously as Linda cut her hand through the children holding it in front of me. "I'm Linda- but you can call me L if you like!"

"In your dreams, Linda." A familiar voice spouted. "You'll never be the next L- that'll be me if anyone…"

"Hello Mello…" I shyly greeted him. Ignoring me, he stuck a free hand deep into the small compartments on his cameo shoulder bag. In his hand he held a rectangular shape wrapped in a shiny foil.

His slender fingers slowly ripped the foil away piece by piece until the chocolate underneath was revealed. Chocolate… Naked chocolate.

_Yum… _

Mello watched me from the corner of his narrow eyes smiling devilishly. My eyes locked onto the chocolate as he wafted it from side to side playfully. "Want a bite?" he droned bringing it closer to my face. I nodded leaning forward to chomp down on the bar. "Tough!"

"What?" I fluttered my eyes as he snatched the bar back into his personal bubble. "You tease!" I smiled leaning in to grab the bar. He hung his arm high in the air and joked around whilst I jumped up failing miserably to catch my prey. "Come on- Mello! Share!"

"I'd rather do this personally… It's kind of fun watching you jump around like this." he leered down at me.

"Perverted freak…" Linda slurred disappearing with her cronies.

"I didn't mean like that." Mello argued grunting loudly to himself. Slipping the chocolate bar into his pocket, he slouched lazily against the wall. I pouted. _I haven't had anything sweet in months…_

Gradually becoming bored with the idle chit chat, I decided to explore further before Matt realised I had wondered off in the opposite direction. According to the roughly sketched map Roger had given to me on my first day, I was currently in the Wammy's Common room. It was an impressive size considering the small amount of children that attended Wammy's Orphanage. The setting was basic- plain white walls with smooth laminated flooring along side simplistic décor. There were a few blue couched spread across the common room. All unoccupied- it seemed the children had finally seen sense and had decided to spend the day outside.

I obviously hadn't.

My footsteps began to echo above the sound of the Wammy orphans as I continued to wander without purpose. After searching through a few similar rooms, I found myself stranded in the common room once again. Only without Mello's company.

Instead, a child that couldn't be any older than myself had taken his place. Glossy locks of white curly hair had hidden his face as I tried to get a decent view of him. He was small- the white silk pyjamas fell loosely over his hands. "Hello?" I whispered to him.

"Yes?" he replied placing little black pieces onto the floor.

"Can I play with you?" Hope sounded in my timid voice as I tip-toed closer towards the albino child not wishing to startle the poor boy. Dominoes were aligned in front of him neatly in a line.

"Why?" he asked. "I believe you would rather spend your time with the others. They're playing football outside if you wish to join."

"I'm alright. I'm not a big fan of sports. I'd rather stay indoors and keep myself company." I said. "However, you seem intriguing so far."

"Very well." he resigned pushing a handful of dominoes next to my bare feet. "Please sit…"

"Thanks." I smiled gathering up the nauseous feeling that had built up in my stomach quickly. _I don't believe throwing up on him is the best way to break the ice. _Roughly 15 minutes had passed and not a word had been spoken. Taking the handful of dominoes the boy had awarded me with, I began swirling the small pieces into interesting shapes on the ground. After a minute, I began to realise that the albino kid had started to watch me build it into something more. Swirls and zigzags covered the floor in front of me once I had finished. I smiled, picking up the last piece and placing it at the end. It wasn't until then I had come to realise I had stolen the boy's pieces to build onto it. "Sorry- I didn't mean to take you're pieces. I was just getting so into it."

"It's fine." he replied monotonously, his eyes fixated on my work. I grinned at him, the nauseating feeling drained from my stomach slowly.

"What's your name?"

"Near." he curled his fingers around an odd strand off hair and played with it consciously. "You're Hope. The new child at Wammy's."

"Did Roger tell you?"

"Roger told everyone." I tittered watching Near follow the trail of dominoes.

"Um… Would you like to knock them down for me?"

"But you're the one that built it. It would only be right if you were the one to do so."

"I don't like knocking them down." He faced me blankly. "Think of it this way- I've spent so long building it, so what have I to gain by destroying it?"

"Then why have another to do so?"

"If they gain pleasure by knocking the dominoes down, then I would approve of them knocking them down. After all, not everything will last forever."

"…Ok." he nodded holding out his index finger and pushing the first domino over causing a chain of clatters to rumbled throughout the room. Smiling inwardly at Near, who had seemed to find the dominoes fascinating, I listened to he loud rattling noise become louder as each domino clashed with each other quickly before coming to an abrupt stop.

"I'm going to go and find my room mate now. If you need me, my room is 29A. It's been nice playing with you!" I rose to my knees heaving arms full of dominoes into the box I assumed they had come in and then held my hand out to the quiet Near. "Goodbye."

"Thank you."

"I'm sorry?"

"For keeping my company. I… enjoyed it. I shall see you in lessons…"

And with that, I left Near to his dominoes.

* * *

**Review please :)**


	5. Chapter 4: The Bells

**Author's Note- Hey everyone. This one has come a litte earlier than the past chapters. I hope you enjoy it! Your reviews arevery helpful thanks :) keep them coming!**

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**Winchester: Wammy's House [10 years prior]**

**L's P.O.V**

Boredom.

"L- would you like another cup of tea before we leave?" The elderly man asked me from the door frame of my bedroom.

"No thank you, Watari." I replied from behind my book apathetically. "I haven't finished the last cup."

Long before the Kira Investigation, before the murder cases, the reign of L, the only trouble I seemed to face on a regular basis was boredom. Being the first child of Wammy's, and the eldest, I was uninterested in socialising with any other child involved in Watari's scheme. Therefore, I had nothing but my reading to entertain my needs.

Watari's programme, that aimed to bring gifted children together, had not started out very well. Being a moderately successful and wealthy man, Watari had no problem funding it. It was constant struggle to find children worthy enough to attend Wammy's 'orphanage' that bothered the slowly aging man.

But it was his gradual aging that motivated Watari to continue the programme. He was 64, rich, but alone. His wife, who was 7 months pregnant, dying of terminal illness over two decades before. But his goal was not to restore the family he had once had the privilege of having. But to provide other children with that same privilege.

But as the years past, Watari began to see talent in me. Causing him to change the orphanage and it's purpose. For the talented, the gifted, the less fortunate children,

And to succeed the detective everyone would soon learn the name of: L.

There were approximately 20 children at Wammy's. But only 5 were recognised as the top children. Those being A, a very optimistic young boy who was taking in by Watari soon after his mother successfully took her own life, B, a very knowledgeable teenaged boy- but suspected to be mentally ill soon after his arrival- nobody knows of his origin, and D, one of the less popular children amongst the lot- he came from a normal background with loving parents- but was transferred here after a large discovery of stolen artefacts were found unearthed from underneath their house. His parents were successfully caught and identified as the thieves.

There was L, otherwise known as myself. Both my mother and father abandoned me at a nearby orphanage when I was suspected of having mild autism. My mother could no longer undergo the stress of her 'special needs' son, bringing her to the decision of abandoning him at a Catholic orphanage north from Winchester. At the young age of 4, Watari discovered and invited me into his homely mansion- too large for just two people. Soon Watari began to look passed my intelligence looking deeper into my behaviour. My tendency to over think things, my abnormal posture, my unhealthy addiction to sweets and pastries…

And then there was S: the only female in the top 5. The newest addition to Wammy's rather dysfunctional family. Quite a lot like myself, she was a deep thinker. A mature young woman. Very unpredictable. But she was not only an extraordinary girl, but she was the only one I could not fathom. For Watari and I knew nothing about her. Her past, her name- all a mystery from the day Watari brought her in.

* * *

Laying a fresh bouquet of yellow tulips on the grave, Watari sighed. It was not often he would visit the grave of his beloved on his own. And he was struggling to cope with it. _Happy birthday, Olivia_. He kissed the brass ring on his finger smiling. "Time to go home…" he stood up straight and made his way through the light rain. He buttoned his leather coat to his neck shivering. _Beautiful. _In the middle of Autumn, the park was painted brilliant shades of red, yellow and brown. The stars were significantly bright, and the sound of the rain hitting the path made a soothing atmosphere. Nothing could have wrecked the current mood.

Until Watari was dragged backwards by a strong arm.

Overwhelmed, Watari swung himself around attempting to free the grip of his attacker. He paused, looking down at the 'criminal'. A young girl, no older than L, was gripping firmly to his sleeve. "Do I know you, sweetheart?" he asked hoarsely.

"Shh." she whispered placing a finger to his cold, thin lips. "Don't walk this way. The man over there has a gun."

Watari gave a baffled look to the small girl. He slowly rotated his head to look for a man in any direction. No one was found. "I don't see a man… Are you sure, little one?"

"Please sir- it would prove advantageous to you if you just listen to me. For the past month or so, that man over there has been watching you pass through this park to the memorial across the road. Judging by his patterns, he was targeting you specifically, however, you normally have a child with you when you pay your visits to the memorial." she said. "The one about my age."

"I see…" Watari frowned. "Have you also being watching me?"

"Yes." she replied bluntly. "I watch everyone who passes through here. However, that is not relevant to the matter at hand. Your attacker cannot be any older that 16. Before he turned to crime, it seems he was in full education and Fairclough Grammar School. But I presume something happened with his family leaving him alone and penniless- a common factor resulting him turning to crime."

"Madam, you've done your homework haven't you?"

"You could say so." She looked away distraught. "It's not 100% guaranteed to work, but if you were to walk with me, perhaps you will not be mugged. He seems to have quite a haunted conscience- so I doubt he would attack a teenaged girl."

Watari nodded slowly holding out a hand to the girl. After she took it, they both cautiously strolled along the bright paths leading to the old gate at the entrance of the park. Watari sighed in relief turning to the girl. Her clothes- tattered rags and loosely fitted to her small figure. Obviously homeless "Do you have anywhere to go, miss?" he asked regardless.

"No. Why sir?"

"I think I know someone you might get along with at Wammy's." he smirked wisely. "He's very smart like yourself."

"Ah… You own Wammy's…" She furrowed her brows. "I knew that."

"Are you interested in joining Wammy's?" A long pause on her behalf. Nervously, she twiddled her thumbs and looked away from him in thought.

"With that boy? Why not…" She smiled shyly looking at her old boots. "I'll come with you."

She tightened her nimble hands around his and walked home. The home that would soon be recognised as her own.

* * *

At least 2 weeks had past since S's arrival, and Watari had failed to present her with a suitable alias. However, she had specifically asked for the letter S. "It is the same initial as my actual name." she revealed to him and I. "Please do not feel unhappy with my choice of not revealing my name. You must understand that I have never given my name out to anyone before. Forgive my secretiveness."

"Don't be silly. It is no burden." Watari smiled like the old man he was. "This is L- the boy you will be succeeding. Right now, you are currently drawing with B as leading successor based on your results for the IQ test you took a few days ago. However…" he rested his cup down on his newly polished desk. "The age difference between you and L are only by a few months, so having you succeed L would be quite strange…"

"Is that a problem?" she stressed quietly. He chuckled leaning down and ruffling her black hair.

"I'm sure we can sort something out, S. Perhaps you will be able to assist L alongside me during cases. I am but an old man now so there's nothing really I can help L with but bringing him tea. Would you be up for it though, miss?"

"Very well." she accepted the challenge with ease. Ever so slowly, her turquoise eyes met with mine in an discomforting silence. "Nice to meet you…" she smirked.

"Hello. I am L."

And from that moment, Wammy's began to change slightly.

Every night, around midnight, I could hear quiet feet echo through the halls of Wammy's. I pushed it aside for a few days deducting that D had finally left his room for some snacks. But as a week or two passed by, my suspicions of the late night wanderer grew.

Rain hit my bedroom window violently in sync with my typing and faint crashes of thunder could be heard. Becoming distracted, I pushed away from my desk and observed the droplets sliding down my window. _Hmmm… _Darkness covered the grounds. Nothing could be seen for a few miles off. _Interesting. I haven't seen a storm this bad in around 5 years… _

An abrupt flash of lightning blinded me lighting up the gardens revealing a figure outside. A female physique and medium length hair. "S?" I mumbled rising to my feet deciding to investigate into her abnormal behaviour seeing it as an opportunity to learn more about her. Reaching for the door's handle, the door slammed itself open allowing the wind to push inside forcefully. _It's getting worse. _I heaved myself forward straight into the wind until I was beside the teen girl.

"Hello, L." she said above the sound of the torrent.

"Hello, S." I replied. "You should really get back inside before you fall ill. It can effect your rate of performance here at Wammy's."

"Can't you hear that?" she complained looking concerned into the sky above. "Those ringing bells?"

"No I can't…" I frowned softly tugging her arm to come inside. "You're probably just hearing things."

"Don't be so close-minded," she said turning around. "Why don't you try looking passed what you can see or hear. Explore out of the box- then you might hear them."

"Alright, but please come in."

I slammed the door shut behind me and locked it. I shivered, drowned head to toe with the rain. S ringed her hair out on the door mat and sighed. "Will Watari be giving me an alias soon? I'm slightly worried that I haven't been provided with one yet…"

"I think he's mulling it over. As you can see, the aliases given out at Wammy's normally have meaning to them." She sighed again.

"Well I don't have the patience to wait for one- I'm childish like that." she smirked. "Can you just give me one?"

"If it will please you…" I played with my lips deep in thought.

"Don't worry. I trust your judgement."

"Hmmm…" I thought. "Shadow." S smiled approving of the name I had given her.

"I like it." she said stretching her long arms out wide and yawning exasperatingly. "Thank you. I'm going to retire now. Maybe you should do the same. I understand Watari is preparing you for when you get your first case, but depriving yourself of sleep every night like you do is unhealthy."

"Have you being spying on me, Shadow?" I came closer to her face concerned of her knowledge.

"No. I'm just a deductive person." she closed her eyes. "Goodnight, Lawliet." she whispered. My eyes shot open alerted by the sound of my name.

"Shadow-"

But before I could ask, Shadow had disappeared into the darkness.

* * *

**[10 years later: Task Force Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan]**

**Shadow's P.O.V**

"So how do you know L, Shadow-chan?" Matsuda asked. Smiling lightly at him, I threw him a pile of documents at him. Confused by my actions, the child-like detective looked down at me in awe. "Huh?"

"It's not important, Matsuda. Let's just say we're childhood friends." I said softly. "Try focusing a bit more on the case and I _might _tell you a bit more about myself."

"O-ok, miss." his bottom lip quivered as he sullenly walked away in the opposite direction. "L still wants to speak to you, by the way."

"Oh- thanks." My mind blissfully flicking through research L had done. Impressed by the amount L had covered on such short notice. Before marking it and passing it on to Aizawa, Light entered the room.

With Misa.

"But Light you promised to take me out tonight!" Misa ranted crossing her scraggy arms over her flat-chest bust. "Can't you bend the rules and take me anyway?"

"Listen Misa, I don't know how many times I have to tell you this but we're _not _seeing each other. Plus L wouldn't approve of you leaving the building just yet."

"But Light-kun!" she whined nostalgically.

"Is there a problem?" butting in half-way through their pitiful quarrelling. Light's thin lips curled up and he chuckled softly at me.

"None at all, Shadow." he smirked. "How have you been?"

"Alright…" I chewed at the side of my lip fretfully. "Have you seen Ryuzaki at all?"

"Actually no. Not since he unchained the two of us. Isn't he where he normally is?"

"Nope. I need to speak with him as well…" I said. "Regarding the Yotsuba Group of course…"

"Right," Misa snickered to herself. "We all know you're his _girlfriend_!"

"If you reckon so," I clenched my small bag in my hands and returned Misa's gormless look upon her. "Do you mind helping me find him Light?"

"I'd be delighted to!" his heavenly eyes sunk into me as he offered a free hand to me. Distrustfully giving him my hand, we exited the room slamming the door shut behind us. "I don't mean to sound harsh, but how are you in any way significant to this case?" Light squeezed my hand thoughtlessly sending signals to my deathly pale face to flush with colour.

"I'm not at liberty to say. I'm sure L will tell you soon though" I mumbled staring down at the baby blue carpet in front of us. "Didn't he mention me at all?" A small ounce of hope laid in my heart that he had at least hinted to his colleagues about my existence. A large part of me still remained unsure of whether he cared anymore. Which, of course, I wanted him to.

"Not that I know of." he sighed. "Unless you're dead."

"What an odd thing to say…" I thought aloud. "Elaborate."

"Well, before you arrived, he was talking about this dead girl he used to like. But apparently she had died as a result to one of his previous cases…" Light's brash face was lost in thought. "I think he's in there if you want to go check."

"Thanks- I'll be fine from here" Unclenching the teen's warm hand, I pushed the heavy fire door to leading to the outside balcony.

"You know- I'd love to get to know you better, Shadow." Light's flawless face tinged pink. "You're different from the other girls- you're independent and not needy… I like that."

"I don't think that would be appropriate…" Our faces fell in unison. "You see- I'm not really supposed to be here."

"And yet- you are…"

"I-I mean- I'm not supposed to be here at all." I grabbed the door handle behind me and backed away through it.

"I'm afraid I don't understand-"

"I'm sorry but I have to go…" The door closed briskly behind me leaving me standing in the winter breeze. _I can't trust him… I just can't. _Grabbing the rail cautiously, I managed the stairs on the side of the building avoiding losing my balance and toppling down them again. As I reached the top, an unruly mop of hair could be seen on the far side of the roof. "L?" I yelled over to him. His head turned tiredly looking at me. "What are you doing up here?"

"I can hear those bells…" L said. His eyes searched the skies curiously. "I've… never heard them before."

"What?" I gasped. "You can hear them now?"

"Yes…" He itched the back of his head. "I used to listen out for them every night for them after your death."

"But why?"

"Wishful thinking really. I thought maybe if I could here the bells, there were the off chance you were still alive." He turned his body towards me. "However, there was only a 2 percent chance…"

"Oh L…" I whispered unrequitedly. "They're so happy tonight… The bells. Like church bells- just like I used to hear them."

"I assume you mean wedding bells?"

"Y-yeah." Soft fingertips brushed across my face as I closed my eyes.

"I'm sorry- but no." L said. "I cannot have a corpse bride. Our arrangement is cancelled."

"W-what!" I choked out his hand leaving my cold face. "But Lawliet-"

"It's Ryuzaki or L, Shadow." L said. "Please prevent from using that name. After all, it's not like I can call you by yours…"

"But L- I'm not dead! We can-"

"Hmmm yes…" L let his mind wonder. "I suppose you're right. However, I believe we will need to get some trust issues out of the way…" He strolled away towards the stairs. "Until then, I'll see you at work, Shadow."

And then he left me in the dark. With nothing but the stars to comfort me.

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**Review please :) It encourages me to write more lol 3**


	6. Chapter 5: Those Scars Will Never Fade

**Author's Note- Gee o.o I take a while to update don't I? Apologies :D **

**Also, all the chapters are going to be different lengths because alot more happens in some :L I'm sure you understand :D**

**As always, criticism is welcome just as much as praise so don't be afraid to speak up :) Because it's only going to make my writing better for you!**

**So yeah :3 Enjoy~**

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**L's P.O.V**

"Is Matsuda on the set with Misa?" Light questioned, tapping quickly on the screen next to my own.

"Yes, Light-kun. Why the sudden interest?"

"No reason, Ryuzaki. I just noticed it was a lot quieter than usual." Light's face twitched into somewhat of a smile. "Did you speak with Shadow? She was looking for you earlier."

"Yes I did, Light." I slurred uninterested of his presence. "Please do not feel the need to bring our conversation into discussion."

"No need to bite my head off Ryuzaki," he said. "…You still think I'm Kira."

"I never said that, Light. I'm just a bit depressed. But you should already know this…"

"But why? There's no reason to be- we _have_ a lead now."

"True…" I paused, played with my bottom lip, and faced the curious 18 year old. Light's disturbed look met with my wide-eyed glare. "It may be that my suspicions are not clear of you yet."

Of course, Light's personal life was becoming insignificant to me. He had shown no sign of suspicious behaviour since he was released from confinement. And the Kira murders had continued along a different pattern of killings.

Kira had become less predictable, and more irresponsible. His murders began to follow a different line: money. Business. Which eventually lead the Task Force and myself to a group known as Yotsuba. A clear motive had been made out- all we needed was our evidence. But there was on thing I was definitely sure of:

We were no longer dealing with the same Kira.

The obvious reason my deduction being the link between the change in Light's behaviour… and Kira's. Almost simultaneously. Whether Kiras 'power' can somehow be passed on to another, leaving the previous Kira unaware of their crimes, or if Light has deliberately planned for this to happen and for his powers to be returned to him at one point or another in the future… Perhaps even after I had passed… Light had been Kira.

"I'm not Kira!" Light openly scowled at me. "How many times do I have to say!"

"Now, now Light. We wouldn't want to upset anyone with that temper." Inwardly, I smirked.

"You're the one upsetting people here," he grunted facing the monitor again. "Not me…" Light paused gazing at his monitor intently. Curious, I peered over my colleagues shoulder and rolled my tired eyes. Light had been instructed to keep watch over Shadow's room as a precaution that something was to happen whilst she was in there.

However, Light seemed to be enjoying the fact that she was getting ready for a soak in her tub.

"Huh? Oh!" Light's face flushed a deep crimson. "I wasn't- I mean- I-it caught me off guard as you can understand…"

"Unfortunately, I do understand." I teased the randy teenaged boy.. "I just find it hard to believe how you can perve on an older woman when you have a petite, blonde super model awaiting you in the next room."

"I wasn't perving!" he argued listening to Light's reasoning, I found my own eye lurring towards his screen. Shadow delicately slid her jacket onto the floor and began unbuttoning her lacy black top slowly. She paused, and looked in the direction of the camera almost helplessly.

A side of Shadow I hadn't encountered before was her vunerable side.

She quivered, undoing the last of the buttons on her blouse before sliding down her slender arms onto the floor below. "Please don't be watching…." she whimpered quietly. She pulled her skirt down to her knees and crawled into the corner. And cried into her bare knees.

"Oh my god…!" Light exclaimed.

"S…"

* * *

**[Seven Years before-hand]**

"Quickly! What's her current state!" Watari yelled out to the nurse through the flames.

"She's suffered from some really severe burns on the entire left hand side of her body! She has a gaping laceration across her chest and is losing blood fast! It seems like her arm has been crushed in the collapse! And her vitals are dropping _fast_!"

"God damn it! Where's the ambulance!" he growled heaving her limp body out from the debri and placing her flat on the ground.

"There was an accident nearby so we have a shortage, sir!" she choked through hot tears. "Who even caused this!"

"I'm not entirely sure." my heart raced. "She wasn't even supposed to _be _here…"

"Sir- are you a friend!" The nurse shouted over the devastation.

"…I'm her fiancé to be precise…"

"Oh…" she was silenced. I gaped down at her almost lifeless body and crouched down to my knees. "I hope the best for you…"

"Ryuzaki." I filled her in. "Thank you, Miss Salazar." She smiled sympathetically and fled from the scene in search for help.

"R-Ryuzaki…" Watari firmly gripped my shoulder. "You do realise…"

"I know, Watari." I followed the hot pulsing burn up the side of her body with my saddening eyes. Her chest rose in time with my increasing heart rate. Her face, coated in crimson, shimmered in the heat. "What were you thinking?" I asked irritably. "I told you this was _dangerous."_

"I…wanted… you…to" she gasped heavily. "Follow…your…heart…"

"That's physically impossible-"

"No…L…" She held her hand out. "Nothing is… impossible…just…a…challenge…"

"You shouldn't have come here. I told you not to…"

"If…I… hadn't…would…you have…even…come?"

"I wouldn't have had a reason to-"

"Beyond…" she swallowed what I assumed to be her own blood rising up her throat. "deserves…justice…You…we are…justice…"

"Shadow…" Devastation had struck me, I gently caressed her hand in my own. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because…nobody…deserves to…die…not Beyond… or his victims… and I wanted to stop that… even… if it meant… sacrificing mine…"

"But what use are you to people _dead_?" I stumbled on my own words. A feeling arose in my chest- what I imagined to be the same pain she was enduring.

"At least…I don't die… in vain…" she heaved out in agony. "But you…can't die… until… you follow your own… ambitions… Promise me… you won't be stupid… like I… have been…" She opened her eyes exhaustedly. "Promise me… you will help…serve justice…"

"I can't keep a promise like that Shadow…" I felt her squeeze my hand gently pulling me towards her. Not fighting her wishes, I leaned in gazing into her youthful eyes.

"Promise…me…" I nodded and sadly smiled down at her.

"I promise." She let out a small laugh before triggering a coughing fit. My hand fixed into the gaps between her fingers firmly and held it to my chest.

"Good…" she smiled lightly. "It's not… death… do us part… it's… until we… stop… thinking… of one another… ok?" I replied again with a long nod.

"No, Shadow… You stil have a ten percent chance of survival…"

"But… my life span… has come to an…end…" she frowned, her poetic license confusing me. "Good…night…"

"Shadow _do not _give up!"

"Lawlie…" She gasped for air desperately, blood splattering over my shirt with every cough. "I lo…ve you…"

Given the circumstances, I pressed my nose against hers and pecked my lips softly on her own. The heat draining from the hand I was holding, and quickly spreading to her lips. As I pulled away, Shadow's head fell lifelessly to the side. I had taken her last breath away from her.

"Ryuzaki…What shall we do now?" His crinkled eyes set on mine.

"We shall assemble a Task Force…And start a new case." I calmly spoke. "Please have all the documents about Shadow… burned. I want to see no more of this."

"Very well…" he confirmed. I took one last glance upon my only friend… My first love… And released her cold hand onto her chest. From there, Watari and I left condominium up in flames.

Along with the last, and unknown, victim of the L.A B.B killings.

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**[Present Day]**

The marks stared me directly in the face. The fading, but all the while noticeable, burns spread out from her waist downwards and a deep scar tearing through her left-hand side of her chest. "What in the world happened!" Light gawked at her. "It looks like someone has tried to rip her heart out…"

"What has happened to S has nothing to do with the Kira case." I spat almost venomly at him. "Please avert your eyes."

"A-alright Ryuzaki…You don't have to tell me."

Instantaneously, I remembered the events of that day. I remembered the vows I had made to Shadow, I remembered the ache that still remained in my chest to this day,

And I remember how the night before, I had specified how I couldn't have a 'Corpse Bride' after she made it abundantly clear that it was not death that shall do us part, but rather our thoughts.

And she never left my thoughts for one second.

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**Shadow's P.O.V**

Wringing out my sopping hair, I stared into the mirror opposite me. _Look… how ugly. _I frowned lost in my own self esteem. _I'm sick of having to see this in the mirror every time I bathe… _I gathered my dirty clothes form the floor and wrapped a clean towel around myself. I walked through to the bedroom throwing my mucky laundry over the bed. I opened my wardrobe doors wonderously. "What should I wear today?" I said aloud smiling.

"SHADOWWW!" I heard a squeaky blonde howl outside the door. "LET ME IN IT'S IMPORTANT!"

"The door's open." I tightened the knot of the towel I was wrapped in as she barged through my door excitedly. "What's wrong?" I asked worriedly.

"Oh perfect you're not dressed yet! Here-" A pile of assumingly clean clothes were thrown in my direction. "Put this on- it's _urgent_!"

"What?" I gulped. The outfit was… revealing. A cropped top with a heart cut in the chest revealing any cleavage and a pair of slim fitting hotpants- both in black. An eact copy of what Misa was wearing. "Misa- I can't wear this." I stated, watching her face grow impatient.

"You have to- Matsuda's life is at stake here!" she pouted throwing her arms up in the air dramatically. "And Ryuzaki is counting on you!"

"Ryuzaki?" I stammered nervously. "But…" I took a second look at the outfit. Knowing that, if I were to wear it, the truth woud be revealed. My distinguishing scars would be on show for everyone to see.

And then L would know for definite that I had died that day in L.A.

Misa grabbed my shoulders firmly and shook me out of my thoughts. "Just put it on and meet me in my room! The Yotsuba group will be here any minute now!"

"Yotsuba?" I repeated the name. "A-alright. I'll be a few minutes. Happily, she beamed at me throwing a pair of go-go boots at the side pf my wardrobe. Black ones.

"Meet you there, Shadow!" And she left. Leaving me to change. Quickly, I undid the tight knot in my yellow towel and slid the tight-fitting shorts over my thighs. Then pulled the crop-top over my head and adjusted myself so that everything was placed where they were supposed to be. "No time to spare- I hope this is important…" I thought aloud once again. Rushing down a flight of stairs, I entered Misa's room, which was conveniently placed right next to the stairs. I looked around- about half a dozen of girls, wearing the same erotic outfit, were stood in a semi-circle.

"S-Shadow!" Misa pulled me over to stand beside her. "Wait here- they'll be arriving any minute now!"

At that moment, Matsuda pushed the door open and smiled nervously. "Please come in! Haha!" he chirped. Members of the Yotsuba group, that we had being monitoring carefully over a course of three weeks, poured into the room.

"Good evening, Yotsuba!" All the girl sang out almost seductively. I glared over at Matsuda flashing him an awkward smile. _Oh Matsuda, you idiot… _

"Please make yourself at home!" Misa giggled as the girls all claimed a CEO for themselves. I shuddered, feeling heavily stared at by perverse eyes. A man, who I knew as Kyosuke Higuchi, swaggered over to me.

"Hey there, I think I'll have you." he snickered. Creepily.

"I'm sorry- but I'm engaged." A phrase I was too used to using.

"Oh really?" he arched his eyebrow and placed his large hands around my waist. "What's his name, sweetie?"

"Who else?" I faked a smile running over to Matsuda and claiming his right arm. Shocked, his arm stiffened and he blushed lightly. "This cutie here! Isn't it right, Matsu?" I stroked his arm playfully. "That we're _engaged_."

"Ah- yes! Haha!" he smiled getting on board. "Only a week from now! I can't wait to see my beautiful Grey in her wedding dress!" he lightly touched my waist. "Walking down the isle…"

"You're so sweet, Matsu!" I pressed my nose gently against his affectionately feeling the heat emanate off his face. "But yet- so shy!"

"Very well, then." he grunted, eyeing up Misa on the other side of the room. "Goodbye, for now…"

"Y-yeah." Matsuda grinned. "Shadow," he whispered stealthily in my ear. "What do I do now?"

"I'm not even fully aware of the situation, Matsuda." I folded my arms staring down at the beige carpets. "I'm sire L has something planned Otherwise, I wouldn't have been instructed to get down here…"

"O-ok." he lamented. I cautiously stiffened up, feeling Matsuda's hand stroke my arm to catch my attention. "Shadow… A-am I going to die?"

"No- you have a long life ahead of you still." I smiled reassuringly. "Trust me- I know."

"If you say so- I think we should go sit down now! Haha…" he smiled anxiously down at me. I grabbed his wrist softly.

"Loosen up- you look suspicious." Confirming so, we strolled over to the sofa hand-in-hand. Keeping up our act as a 'couple' happily in love. After a few drinks, Matsuda looked down worriedly at me as we snuggled close together. "Hey Matsu!" I 'seduced' him sprawling myself over the couch. "Want to go in the bathroom for a while? I'm _sure _the bedroom is going to be taken sometime soon by one of these lovely men- so what do you say?~" The room watched Matsuda expectantly as we made our way to the bathroom suggestively. I slammed the door shut and faced Matsuda. "Get your phone out- ring Ryuzaki."

"Got it!" His hand rummaged through his pockets and dialled the number, whilst still, for some unknown reason, holding my hand with the other. "Ryuzaki! What do I… W-what! But that's…! Oh… Ok…"

_*beep* _

"What's happening then?" My heart pumped with adrenaline. Not feeling so alive since my first case.

"H-he wants me to die, so I can live…"

"I see…" I furrowed my brows questioningly. "I think I understand what's happening."

"I'm glad one of us do." He sighed holding his head in his hands. Feeling sorry for him, I brought his head down to my level and smiled.

"Don't worry- I know Ryuzaki- he wouldn't be so risky unless it's absolutely necessary. You _will not die_. So do as Ryuzaki instructed and you'll be fine."

"Alright…" He breathed slowly on my face. "Ok- I trust you."

"Good…" Turning my head to the side, I panicked.

The mirror above the sink had made it apparent that the scar on my left had been on show. I paused, becoming ever so distracted by it. "Shadow- don't worry. I-it's not that bad…" Matsuda comforted me. I nodded slowly, and shooed Matsuda quickly out of the door.

And quickly, the plan went to work. Matsuda stumbled from side to side giggling. "Man- I'm so drunk…" he snickered walking towards the living area.

"Oh Matsu! I did say don't drink too much tonight!" I rolled my eyes smiling amused at Matsuda current 'state'. Swerving in random directions, Matsuda eventually reaced the balcony.

"And now it's time for the Taro Matsui show!" he announced drunkenly.

"Hey is he going to be ok… He's had way too much to drink." A concerned member, Masahiko Kida, enquired, I giggled tapping him lightly on the shoulder.

"Don't be silly! He does this all the time! Right Misa-Misa?"

"Right!" Misa cheered. Everyone watched in shock as Matsuda lifted himself onto the edge of the balcony. Lifting his other leg over, he began to balance on the edge like a tighrope walker- minus the netting at the bottom… Suddenly, Matsuda lost his footing.

And tumbled over the edge falling to his apparent 'death'. Bloodcurdling screams echoed the room as everyone went to check over the ledge- including myself. Down at the bottom, a silhoette of a corpse could be seen. "MATSUI!" I cried out despairingly over the ledge.

"Ah crap! We need to get out of here!" Kida yelled as the Yotsuba grouped rushed into the hallways.

"C'mon Shadow! We'll use the stairs!" Misa gathered her girls and I before ran down the stairway hurriedly. When we finally got outside, an ambulance pulled up next to a distressed woman- or rather- Wedy. One of the newest additions to the Task Force.

"I-I couldn't believe it he just fell out of nowhere!" she cried.

"It's alright Miss, did you know the man?" A paramedic asked her soothing her. She shook her head, before pointing over to the girls I was camouflaged amongst . "Did any of you know this man?" I stepped forward, shaking with fear.

"I-'m his fiancee." I sobbed quietly. "Please… Don't tell me…"

"…I'm so sorry, Miss." he lead me towards the ambulance. "Please come with us, we need you to identify the body…"

"NO!" I wailed. "Our wedding's next week…!" Light softly nudged me into the ambulance and sat me down across form the second paramedic, L.

"Good performance there, girl." The body laid out in front of me heaved himself up. "Nearly as good as mine." Removing the wig, Aiber winked at me sarcastically.

"Thanks, I guess." I smirked, warily covering my side with my arms. "Although, it was a little short notice…"

"I know." L moaned. "And, I know we're short of staff but having to get the job done myself is _ridiculous_."

"Oh shut up, Ryuzaki. All you did was sit down!" I joked, feeling the whole ambulance, pardon the driver, observing the burn I had covered. "Stop looking at it." I snapped.

"W-we weren't…" Light smiled, hugging me from the side. "We're just concerned, Shadow."

"Ok…" I bit nervously on the skin on my finger.

After driving around the city aimlessly, we returned to the Headquarters when we believed the Yotsuba had finally cleared out of sight. I ran upstairs determined to change into my pyjamas. _I don't need anyone questioning me right now…_ I slipped out of the uniform of sorts and into my red silk pyjamas I had been lent. Feeling at ease with my appearance, I went upstairs for some supper.

"Good evening, Shadow." Soichiro greeted me tiredly. "It's been a long day today- make sure to get some rest…"

"Don't worry, sir. I will." I walked passed him into the kitchen. Surprised to see no other than L. "Good evening, L. Grabbing some supper too?"

"I suppose." L searched the fridge ponderously. "However, I'll be getting more supper within the next hour…" he smirked at me pulling out the last slice of strawberry cheesecake on a plate. "Would you like some?"

"Only if you're offering." I laughed as L handed me a fork. Carefully, I cut off the tip of the cheesecake and scooped it into my mouth. "My favourite!"

"I know." he smiled lightly at me digging his fork into the cheesecake. "I have to go."

"Ah- ok."

"Shadow." he called my name, exiting the kitchen. "Do not fret. You're beautiful."

"L?" I gasped, but he was already gone. "Beautiful…"

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**[7 years ago]**

"Papa- how does this look?" I twirled elegantly exiting my bedroom in my white, flowing gown. Watari chuckled happily.

"You look amazing, S. I'm sure L would think the same."

"Perhaps…" I checked myself in the mirror. My skin was flawless, as usual, and the dress fit nicely into my curved figure. "Papa…"

"Yes, my child?"

"Why did L purpose?" I sighed, flattening out the thrills of my dress. "Something doesn't feel right- and why so sudden?"

"My dear…" he stood up straight, and placed his hands on my shoulders reassuringly. "L wanted to get the wedding over and done with so there was no publicity as such. You know it's a bad idea for his face to be recognised. And he wanted to get it done quickly in case something bad was to happen to him."

"Something bad?" I questioned. "Please don't tell me he hasn't caught that serial killer yet!"

"I'm afraid he won't try, the killer wants L's attention after all."

"That's ridiculous!" I raged. "People are dying out there and he will keep killing people until L recognises him! Who knows- L might be _next_!"

"That is what he fears…" Watari's eyes filled with disappointment.

"No." I said bluntly. "I'm not allowing that to happen- he _can't _die."

"But Shadow-"

"I don't care." My head throbbed. Recently, a number of murders had been occurring in L.A. The man, in question, requested that L was to be the one who solved the case. No other. However, since the killer was specifically asking for him, L was uninterested for what he had to say. Therefore, continuing as normal with minor cases. In secret, I began to investigate the case for myself. I began noticing patterns in the murders, I linked recent events to the time of deaths, and was determined to get in touch with the current handler of the case. Eventually, one thing lead to another and I had come to a conclusion:

The murderer was attending Wammy's.

Who else would conveniently know of L's existence and challenge him to a battle of wits? And the current drama at Wammy's only made the killer more apparent.

On 22nd November, Wammy's house suffered a grave loss. Entering the room of A, a gifted and optimistic teenager, Roger, an old friend of Watari's, stumbled upon a horrific scene. Dangling from the ceiling off a thick length of old rope, was A. His blood ran cold through his veins. It was too late.

However, less than 24 hours later, B was reported missing. B hadn't many companions at Wammy's, but A was a fellow rival. It had been said that he ran away under the stress of A's death. But L knew it was more than that. He knew B had other intentions.

Which is what lead me to believe B was the serial killer.

"I just wish L wouldn't set his standards so low," I adjusted my veil to fall perfectly over my face. "It's like he doesn't even care about all those innocent lives being lost."

"I know how much of a burden this is to you, S. However, I am not the man with the answers to your questions."

"I know…" A ringing sound from Watari's pocket beckoned me. After answering, Watari handed the phone over to me. It was L.

"-_Hello, Shadow.-"_ he began.

"Good afternoon, Lawli." I smiled. "I feel honoured that you have called me."

"-_Why? Who else would be ringing you at this time?-_" he sarcastically replied. "_-Does the dress fit nicely on you?-"_

"Wouldn't you like to know!"

"-_Yes, I would.-" _he tempted.

"It's fine. I'm still not liking the fact I have to wear such a provocative dress though…"

"-_I believe that is the whole point of a wedding dress, is it not?-" _

"Not per say. I've always believed one's wedding dress should be comfortable, yet flattering."

"_- Don't be so judgemental. I'm sure you're beautiful.-" _A large tingling sensation filled my gut.

"Huh?" Shocked, I lost the grip I had on the phone. "Damn- uhhh- you'll be back for the… wedding right?"

"_-Yes. I should be back in a couple of days. I'll shall see you then.-" _Abruptly, the line went dead.

With L being such a distant person, I was took by surprise. Beautiful? Not a word I often heard. Perhaps all my doubts of how he felt were just pre-wedding jitters? Or perhaps he was putting my mind at ease in time for the wedding… After all, L couldn't be alone forever. And Watari only had less than decade left, who would take his place? Who else but his dedicated wife?

However, I also held a lot of foreign feelings. Like L, I was unable to socialise very well in large amounts. I was never in touch with my emotions. Did I feel the way a couple were supposed to feel in a relationship? Maybe I just longed to be protected and have the security I needed.

Or maybe, I just didn't want to lose the only person I've ever connected with?

Never the less, the wedding was less than a week away. And I was more than ready to take on the responsibilities marriage would present me with. "Shadow." Watari said. "I'm afraid I need to leave for a while. Will you be alright on your own in the hotel for a little while?"

"Of course." Smiling, I waved Watari goodbye as he locked the door shut behind him. I successfully zipped the back of the dress down, climbing out and into a pair of borrowed jeans L had given me on such short notice. I pulled a clean black V-neck over my head and threw my orange jacket on.

I walked into the kitchen and picked up my laptop on the bench top. "Weird," I mumbled, staring out of the open window. "That was shut not long ag-"

"_Don't scream…" _A large knife brushed lightly against my throat.

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**OOOOOOOH CLIFFHANGER~**

**I'll update soon :D I promise! But I'm going to try and include Hope into the story a little more now.**

**Please Review :D xXx**


	7. Chapter 6: Kiss Of Death

**Author's Note- Wow thanks for the reviews guys :) This one I got done alot earlier (I have a lot of free time and no friends *cue Awwwhs* ;_;) So please enjoy :) If you spot any mistakes or have some friendly criticism please speak up because I welcome it :) Just keep the reviews coming and I'll return the favour with chapters :D Have a nice read! And if I don't update by Christmas, have a merry one :D **

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**

Looking down at the sharp blade pressing lightly to my throat, I remained paralysed. My feet moulded to the ground. "Good girl, Shadow." he laughed menacingly pulling the knife away. "Aren't you going to turn around, princess?"

"I see no need in doing so, B." I slammed the laptop shut and pushed it aside the bench. "Why are you here?"

"I wanted to see you… Is that a problem, princess?"

"Yes," I turned cautiously around. "Because you're lying to me."

"Would I lie to you?" he smirked putting the knife to the side. Dried blood covered the handle, but yet the blade looked brand new. Sharpened to a point that pressing a finger lightly to the tip would draw blood. "Where's your fiancé? Out in the town again?"

"You know he's on a case." I disputed.

"Ah yes…" he mumbled, he rubbed his index finger lightly across his bottom lip. "Why are you marrying him, anyway?"

"What type of question is that!" I scoffed, walking closer to him, amused when he walked back slowly.

"Well, you don't exactly speak often…" The smile from his face faded into an expression of hurt. " I mean, you're my friend. Not his."

"What are you trying to say?" I fell over my own words. He slouched over and leaned against the wall.

"I'm saying that he'll be the death of you."

"What!" I snapped approaching him aggressively. "You don't know him like I do!"

"You don't know him at all, princess." he frowned leaving the kitchen and going into living area. He picked the creased dress from the floor and ran his fingers through the fabric and material. "A pretty dress. Shame you won't get to wear it…" he said under his breath.

"What do you mean?" I watched him smoothen out the creases deep in thought. _B…What are you trying to say?_ B handed the dress to me on it's hook and smiled dejectedly before sitting back down. "B, tell me what's going on…"

"Beyond, S. It's Beyond." he sighed running his hand through the knots in his black hair. "Beyond Birthday."

"A-ah…" I trembled lightly. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Well it's not like you would tell anyone else before…" he stopped, and flashed me a fake smile. "L already knows, why not you?"

"I guess I understand that." I sat beside him, patting him lightly on the back. "B-Beyond, you know you can tell me anything, right?"

"I miss this." he laughed, changing the current subject. "I miss you, I miss A, I miss Wammy's, for God's sake I even miss that old fart Roger."

"Why did you run away then, B?" My eyes stung as they filled with tears.

"Because you weren't there to stop me." he smirked. My eyes leaked when I tried to hold them in. The _anger _building up in my chest only grew more intense putting pressure on my rib cage. How could B be the killer? How can he pour his heart out to me and be so _normal _around me? Did I get it wrong?

"Grow up." I gritted my teeth. "Why are you doing this to me? Say what you want to say and _fast_. Because I have a wedding to organise."

"Right," he cackled, grabbing my wrists tight. "Tell me this- do you love him? Because I'm sure as _hell _he doesn't love you back."

"Love doesn't exist-"

"Oh don't give me all that crap!" he shoved me to the ground, still squeezing my wrists. "Don't say that. He's programmed you to think how _he _thinks!" My breath were caught at the back of my throat as I tried to reply. "Now do you love him?"

"Yes." I said. He snickered, releasing my wrists and standing up over me.

"Tell you what- the day he says it back, you've won. But the day you're lying there _dying_, and he still can't say it, don't expect me to pity you." I rubbed my sore wrists and stared blankly up at him. "But I promise there will be no wedding. Because you won't live to see it…"

"Is that a threat?" I asked. He laughed mockingly and helped me to my feet.

"No." he grabbed my waist and pulled me forward. "Princess… You have three days until the wedding…" My eyes widened as he stroked my face, his creepy smile crept upon his face. "And… a day to live."

"W-what..?" I said shakily breathing in and out.

"Shadow, if you had the eyes. The eyes that can see when a person shall pass… And, no matter what you do, you can't change their fate. People think you're insane… Well look at me now, I _am _insane." his eyes shimmered, looking down at my petrified face. "I knew A was going to die. I _knew_. And I know that you're next. I'm not sure how, but you're going to die. My only friend is dying…" he paused, pushed me away lightly, and turned away. "And the man she's marrying will be the death of her."

"Beyond?"

"Good luck, I have a plane to catch." he drifted into the kitchen and pushed the window, crawling through the small space.

"Don't kill again, Beyond!" I bawled, grabbing his arm and pulling him back in. "It's not justice!"

"No one can stop me." he shook me off crawled even further outside the window. "And besides, I'm next."

"Huh?" I gasped.

"Enjoy the remainder of your life span, princess."

And like that, he had got away. But, stubborn as I was, I wasn't going to let him get away with his crime. Quickly, I opened up the laptop and began accessing the LAPD's documents for details on the murder victims. "Believe Bridesmaid… Quarter Queen… All so young." I sighed, coming across details of the crime scene. "…Got it!" I declared, tapping into the autopsy reports of the victims. "This is sick…" My stomach flipped as I scrolled through the pictures of the young girls. "Definitely B's doing…"

After spending another 5 minutes researching, I had roughly pinpointed the area he would be hitting next. "I have to stop him before he does something he regrets…"

"-_Hello, Shadow.-_" The laptop shut down all my windows and a large 'L' took it's place. "-_Would you care to explain why you're hacking the LAPD's documents?-_"

"I just wanted to see what this case is about…" I lied. "L, I am begging you, take on this case!"

"_-No, Shadow. The killer is obviously B. And provoking him will only make matters worse.-_"

"So you're just going to let this happen!" I raged, glancing over to my coat temptingly. "Fine- let me take on the case."

"-_I'm sorry, but no. It's too risky and I don't want you to get harmed.-_" he replied through a voice filter. "-_Promise me you will stay away from this case. It's dangerous.-"_

"Right." I rubbed the dry skin from my eyes. "Goodbye, L."

"_-Goodbye, Shadow.-" _The computer shut down, leaving me to do as I please.

"I'm sorry too, L." I picked up my coat and all the money I could find in my bag. "But I'm not going to die like this… And it's time you opened your eyes to justice."

**[Location: ?]**

**[?'s P.O.V]**

"_Please… I don't want to see it anymore…"_

"_Huh? See what?"_

"_It's driving me crazy… I don't want to see them die…"_

"_Everybody dies, don't be such a cry-baby."_

"_But Mommy and Daddy… I just want it to go away…"_

"…"

"_I don't want to see it, I don't want the notebook, l-look what I've done!"_

"_I did warn you about the guilt."_

"_Please, Mister… I want it to go away… I want to forget."_

"_God why did I get myself into this?"_

"_Ryu-Ryu…"_

"_Augh- fine. But I'm breaking a lot of rules doing this."_

"_Thank you!"_

"_But, as a warning, you're going to lose your memory. Everything leading up to now… gone, ok?"_

"_It's what I want…"_

"_Right… Oh- here."_

"_What's this?"_

"_A death eraser- it's a keepsake. What it does is kind of self explanatory. And hey- it's not like you'll remember how to use it."_

"_Ok…"_

"_But you might remember some things if you touch it too often. So just be careful."_

"_Got it."_

"_It's been nice knowing you kid."_

"_What? Why are you writing my na-"_

"_It'll be ok, kid…"_

**[Shadow's P.O.V]**

My eyes drifted side to side, eagerly searching for Beyond. My chest was on fire, my whole side pulsing and throbbed uncontrollably. And my arm was crushed under the rubble and fallen debris. I couldn't move. Even if I tried. And the fire was only getting closer…

I knew I was going to die.

My sight began to blur as a crew approached me. "There's one here!" the paramedic called out. "It's ok Miss, you're going to be alright."

"No…" I uttered, grabbing the man's arm loosely. "Get him out, I'm already dead…"

"Get who out?" he spoke clearly.

"He's in there, burning… Q-quick." I pointed to the remnants of the building. He scanned through his head, and his head wondered to my chest. A large cut was there. And was bleeding profusely. And on that thought, they headed inside to find Beyond. Moments later, they brought a body out on a stretcher. Burnt beyond belief.

A burnt Beyond.

He eyes opened as he was taken into the ambulance. Shocked, he stared straight at me and screamed. "You silly girl!" he screeched through unbearable pain. "You silly, silly girl!"

"Bye, B…" I bid my farewells as I drifted in and out of consciousness. The pressure being applied to my chest felt as if it was being lifted.

"She's over there!" I heard Watari's voice yell.

"…Her vitals are dropping _fast…!_"

_A nurse?_

"…I'm her fiancé…"

_L! _I opened my eyes urgently, looking up at a blurry face. He looked down at me, his face telling an emotion I had never seen on him before.

" I told you this was _dangerous_."

_I wanted you to follow your heart._

"That's physically impossible-"

_NO, L! Nothing is impossible… Just a challenge._

"You shouldn't have come here. I told you not to." A horrified look flashed briefly on his face before I shakily handed him my hand.

_If I hadn't, would you have even come?_

"I wouldn't have had a reason to-"

_Beyond… Deserves justice. You- we ARE justice. _

"Shadow…" he gently embraced my hand in his own, causing my slowly beating heart to beat slightly quicker. "Why are you doing this?

_Because nobody deserves to die. Not Beyond or his victims… Even if it meant sacrificing mine._

"But what are you to people if you're _dead!_" I received a mixed signal of anger, sadness…Despair.

Was I talking to the same L? My eyes shut, and held my hand more firmly.

_At least I don't die in vain. But you can't die until you follow your own ambitions. Promise me you won't be stupid like I have been today…_I restlessly tackled my eyes open. _Promise me… you'll help serve justice._

"I can't keep a promise like that Shadow…" I dragged him forward so that he was looking me in the eye. He leaned forward submissively allowing me to see sorrowful eyes.

_Promise me. _

"I promise." he smiled, a rarity. My soft laugh turn into a violent sequence of coughs. To which he held my hand close to his heart and stared down at me hopefully.

_Good… It's not death that shall do us part. It's until we stop thinking about one another… ok? _Slowly, I felt like I was separating from my own body.

"No Shadow… You still have a ten percent chance of survival…"

… _But my life span has reached its end._

"Shadow _do not _give up!" I felt the almost non-existent tremors circulating around his body.

_Lawliet… I love you… _

Not saying a word, he lowered his face until his nose brushed mine. And softly kissed my dry lips. Wishing the moment would last a little longer,

Everything went black. And I died.

"…_Well, this is convenient. Heh."_

"_Who is that?"_

"_Doesn't matter. Anyway, I got a gift for you. I need to ditch these eyes fast before the King sees me…"_

"_Eyes?"_

"_Yeah- Shinigami eyes, you know."_

"_What!"_

"_Anyway, take them, and you get to live. What d'ya say?"_

"_Um, alright?"_

"_Right, we'll be seeing each other soon then do discuss your new responsibilities…"_

"_Wait, what? For how long are you leaving me?"_

"_Until the time's right. Bye, human!"_

"…"

* * *

**[Present Day]**

**[Winchester: Wammy's House]**

**[Hope's P.O.V]**

"What are you doing?" Matt chuckled. "You're cat can't get anymore groomed, man."

"Shut up!" I giggled, dragging a brush through the knots of Van Gogh's long silky fur. "You can't be too well groomed, isn't that right?" I picked him up and snuggled him close to me. "You've been with me for as long as I can remember haven't you?"

"How come I don't get that much attention." Matt pouted playfully grabbing Van Gogh from out my hands. He lifted him up and inspected the cat from every angle. "Cute… But not as cute as me."

"Of course not," I smiled, grabbing a box from under my bed and going through all of my stuff.

"Now what are you doing?"

"Just going through everything. It'll be nice to find something memorable." I rummaged through the cardboard box. Just to my luck, I found nothing of the sorts. I frowned, pushing the box back under my bed. "Well that sucks."

"No luck?"

"Nope." I sighed.

"Well I tell you what…" a pair of hands appeared on front of me holding out a pair of red goggles. Brand new with a blue tint in the lens. "Have my spares- now you have something to remember me by" he grinned and slapped the goggles over my eyes. He laughed, grabbing my hand mirror from the bed side. "We're twins!"

"Yay?" I said sarcastically, tackling Matt from the legs and sending him flying. For a few minutes, we just enjoyed each other's company. Matt was growing on me. Fast. However, I found myself growing more attached to a white haired boy. Near.

"How is Near anyway?" Matt asked, trying to show interest. "We don't talk much…"

"Because of Mello?" I cocked my head to the side looking at Matt for an answer.

"Yeah," he replied, his smile fading. "I don't why they can't get along…I guess it's because of the leader boards."

"Leader boards?" I snickered. "Do you mean this competition everyone keeps mentioning?"

"Yeah- you should know about them really considering you took _my _place as third. How's the grades anyway?"

"They're… improving. A lot. Roger said that I'm working at a similar level as Near… I doubt it though. He's so smart."

"But you are too, Hope!" Matt egged on. Listening to Matt's little rant, I turned to the box and randomly dug my hand in the bottom. To my surprise, a little tin box that fitted straight into my hand was pulled out. It was dark brown- almost black. And on the lid, there was an indentation of some foreign symbol. _What does it mean? _I frowned. I was a multi-linguist, but this symbol seemed to be almost alien.

A step forward to learning a bit more about myself.

"Hope?" Some knocked gently on our door, and invited themselves in. It was Near, staring blankly at us as we lied on the floor. Our sides aching from all the laughing.

"Near!" I smiled gathering myself and walking up to the open door. "What brings you here?"

"It's one o' clock." he said, fiddling with his white hair. "Are you still alright to play?"

"Um- yeah!" I flashed him a small smile, and waved goodbye to Matt. "Near, do you want to do something different today?"

"Like what?" he asked, looking down at the floor quietly.

"Let's go outside." I suggested.

"But it's cold."

"Well we'll wear overalls."

"I don't have any…" he mumbled.

"I'm sure Matt will give you some." I argued. We walked passed the common room and into kitchen. The kitchen was relatively small compared to the rest of the rooms. But it meant more space for the garden outside. The door to outside happened to be flung wide open allowing the cold breeze to flow in. I smirked, grabbing Near's slightly bigger hand and dragging him outside barefoot.

"What are you doing!" he yelled as we trampled through a fresh sheet of snow.

"What does it look like? I'm taking you outside!" I grinned from ear-to-ear. My feet ached from the cold as we ran towards the woods. Once we reached them, we took cover under a tree trembling in the blistering cold.

"Why did you do that?" he shook violently. "We have no shoes on!"

"I know." Laughing hard, I climbed up the tree we had sheltered under away from the snow. "Climb up!"

"I can't." he reckoned. I rolled my eyes, holding out my hand and heaving him up. He was light, he felt almost weightless. He bounced up onto the branch and balanced himself. "Why did you do that?" he repeated, glaring me square in the face. I opened my mouth, and paused. _I don't actually know…_ "You don't even know do you?"

"Nope." I tinged a light pink.

"Why are you blushing?"

"Because it's cold!" I folded my arms defensively across my chest. "Near, don't you come outside often?" He shook his head. "Why not?"

"I'm content with indoors."

"I know, but you can't stay cooped up in there forever!"

"Why not? I like it." he bickered. He circled his ankles around creating some sort of blood flow through them. I frowned, pulling him forward and wrapping my arms tight around him. "What are you-"

"You're cold so I'm warming you up." I stopped him mid-sentence. He squirmed trying to free my grip, he shoulders were stiff in place. And he looked up at me irritated by the closeness. Where as I was embarrassed.

"Are you unwell?" he asked, not averting his eyes from mine.

"No why?"

"Because you're getting redder" he stated, hesitantly placing a hand on my forehead. A bold move from such an anti social mess. "You're really warm. We should go inside."

"Nice try- we're staying out. Can't you enjoy it for a second?" I huffed.

"Alright." he accepted the situation with difficulty, relaxing gradually into my hold.

"Heh- you blend in with the snow." I joked, squeezing him gently from behind. "God- it feels like I've only been here a couple of days. But I've been here a few months now…"

"Where are you from?" Near asked, looking up at me.

"Erm…Uh…" I thought hard, but I couldn't recall. "I don't know… They found me on the street."

"You don't seem like you are from the street." he said. "More of a middle class family that live quite far away. Perhaps orphaned."

"How did you get all that?" I chuckled looking drearily down at him.

"Just from the way you behave. And your dialect fits that area…" he mumbled, with his hands in his hair.

"Ok…" I sighed. "Actually, I did come from quite far away… Truth be told, I can't remember any of my childhood. All I remember is the nagging feeling telling me to go there…"

"Where is there?"

"The park… The one with the memorial beside it? I don't know why… And there's this woman's grave that seems to catch my eye quite often there. A woman and her daughter… The woman was called Olivia."

"Interesting…" he grumbled. "Can we go inside now?"

"I guess… Thanks for listening." Smiling, I threw one leg over the branch preparing to jump down.

"Take your time, Hope." Near called up.

"Oh so you can get down but not up! I smirked.

"My feet weren't numb then."

"No exc-" Leaning too much forward, I fell off the branch. Crashing down into the 4 inches of snow formed on the ground. I opened my eyes cautiously, and froze.

"Hope you've…" Near began, looking wide-eyed into my green eyes. I had managed to fall on top of Near, from seven feet up in the air. I laughed, causing me to apply more pressure onto the poor white haired boy. "What's so amusing?"

"Nothing!" I broke out into hysterics, my eyes watered, and my chest and sides started to hurt all over again. Growing tired of me, Near rolled me over into the snow. The sudden cold catching my breath. "Cold!"

"Really? I didn't notice." he smiled.

"Hey- you smiled!" I ogled, feeling nervous under his stare. "I like your smile- do it more!"

"I'll smile when I want to."

"Well- yeah- but still!" I giggled lifting myself up onto my arms. "So…"

"…" His eyes grew a lot softer on me, making me relax a bit more. He slid his hands deeper into the snow, wincing in what I imagined to be pain. My arms and legs started to numb the longer I laid there, and my head throbbed lightly. My lungs felt compressed, yet Near was merely hovering over my body. "Shall we go in?" he asked knocking me out of the dazed feeling I was experiencing. I nodded, lifting myself out of the snow. We ran back inside through the newly emerged blizzard. We dried off our feet, and walked through to the common room. Where we were originally planning to spend the day.

Near pulled out a box from underneath one of the sofas full of blank jigsaw pieces. And he began to build, once again. The stress being put on my lungs remained. Suddenly I found it harder and harder to breathe normally. And my face felt hot, like an open fire. "Near…" I called out, grabbing his attention. "Did you…have fun today?"

"Yes." he replied with a very light smile. "Why? What's wrong?"

"Nothing…Just wondering. I don't feel so good." Standing up, Near walked over to me and knelt down to my level pressing his cold palm on my head.

"You're hot." he said. "You should go see Roger, you're not well."

"N-no I'm fine… I think I just have things on my mind. No worries." I smiled tiredly. He shook his head falling off his knees onto the floor. _I think I know what's wrong… _

"What's on your mind?" he asked, playing with another tuff of hair.

"Why do you play with your hair so much?"

"Huh? I don't know." he stared concerned at me. "Tell me."

"It's nothing… I just…" Not finishing the sentence, I impulsively ran a hand through his white shiny locks. _It's so soft… _"Oh- sorry. I was curious."

"I-it's fine." he stuttered, grabbing the ends of my fringe. "Yours is as well."

"Thanks." We sat for a few more minutes, hands in each others hair. Until the feeling in my chest tightened and tightened, until I was gasping for air.

"Hope?" Near's eyes widened, as I fell forward into his chest. "What's wrong!"

"My chest…!" I gasped, clinging to Near's chest in panic. "I can't…!"

"Roger!" Near bellowed out, cupping my head in his hands. "Stay awake."

"I'll try." I whimpered. _I guess I was wrong…_

"Roger!" Near yelled out again. "Somebody!"

"Near…" I giggled, the dizziness going to my head as I drowsily swayed side to side. He looked down at me, his hands still planted to my face. Stupidly, I stretched out my head and pressed my lips firmly against his. By surprise, he didn't pull away too quickly caught in the shock of the moment.

And then I blacked out, feeling like I'd never wake up again.

* * *

**Gimme an R Gimme an E Gimme a V-I-E-W :D**


	8. Chapter 7: Tremors and the Truth

**Author's Note- Phew. It's been a pain getting this chapter completed. Nothing but distractions! . Anyway, I might be starting another story shortly. But do not worry, this shall be my main focus until it is finished (Which won't be for a while!) And I MAY continue in a sequel because I don't want this to drag on too long. **

**I do mull over any request if you wish for me to do a story for you. But, like I said, this is my main priority. So it either won't be updated too quickly, not be as long, etc.**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter. Criticism is welcome because I know I'm not the best writer.**

* * *

**[Seven Years Ago]**

**L's P.O.V**

I nibbled thoughtfully on my nail follicles, over-looking the case documents. The Los Angeles B.B Murder Cases. The Wara Ningyo Murders. Also known as the Serial Locked Room Killings.

Also known as my case. And did not belong to any other

However, no one was aware of this.

Choosing to keep this cases swept under the rug, I told no one. Other than my fellow colleague, my eyes, my arms, and my legs. Her name? Naomi Misora. An FBI agent taking a leave of absent. Why? It was irrelevant. But nonetheless, convenient. She was strong, independent, along with being very capable of searching for what I needed. What he _wanted _us to find. And, at this present moment, I was expecting a call from her. From where we had predicted the next murder to take place. A collection of small apartments in Pasadena, a few blocks down from a hotel. That, of course, I was currently staying at.

Shadow, on the other hand, was located elsewhere. Her involvement could have directly jeopardise the outcome of the case. "The killer is B." I mumbled, confidently. B. A psychotic man unfortunately intertwined in a in a thorny relationship with her.

"_Why don't we bring S with us?"_ Watari had suggested.

"_If she proves helpful to the cases. I do not wish to involve too many people._" I had not thought much of the girl. But the security at Wammy's she held only decreased the more B bonded himself to her.

Keeping her away from Wammy's for good, I had made a proposition. Marriage. Ecstatic, she agreed, occupying her mind for the time being. Which ceased her from interrupting the case. And kept her way out of harm's way.

Sitting around a table for an evening meal, Shadow looked distressed. _"What is wrong, Shadow?"_

"_There's this case that might interest you." _she proclaimed chivalrously. Publicity was a problem. The 'Wara Ningyo Murder' were being portrayed all over local news and sprawled out in various newspapers and magazines. Hiding the very fact that this case was existing was impossible. I declined. But Shadow insisted I took the case on board.

Oh how she was a stubborn one.

"_You confuse me, L. You will take on a challenging case, but only if there's being 10 victims? Or if there's over a million dollars at stake? Why?" _

"_If the killer has not managed to complete 10 murders successfully, then that means the police are able of solving the case themselves."_

"_But I know you've taken on cases under 10 victims before. What's different here? From basic knowledge, there has been one less Wara Ningyo doll with each murder. Any person with a brain can see that a sensible end for this case would be one doll. Or perhaps even none. There was only four to begin with."_

"_The case hasn't even reached FBI standards yet. So no."_

"_But I'm sure this is as equally difficult to all the other cases! I mean- a locked room? A locked room is to make the murder look like suicide. But they __want __us to know it's a murder. So what's the significance of the locked room?"_

"_I'm sure the police will find out for themselves."_

"_But they won't!"_

"_Let us wait and see, S."_

"_Sure, I'm fine with that…"_

"_Oh? Then it's settled."_

I banged away on the keyboard contently, awaiting some sort of signal of a disturbance. Shadow, although a hard person to read, was not one to back down. She was a child, as am I. Will not go defeated in a fight.

Proving my theory right, Watari bugged the laptop we had used for communication with her. "L," he called, briefly pausing to listen to him "Shadow's laptop is under use, It seems she is hacking into the LAPD's documents."

"…I see. Thank you, Watari."

"Shall I stop her?"

"There's no need." I tackled her advanced hacking ability. Quickly, a blank screen spread across her monitor. Nothing but a calligraphy 'L' was present on the screen. "Hello Shadow. Would you care to explain why you are hacking the LAPD's files?"

"_-I just wanted to see what this case was about…-_" A blatant lie, the panic in her voice emerging from the surface. "_-L- I am begging you, take on the case!-" _

"No, Shadow." I said. "'The killer is obviously B. And provoking him shall make matters worse." Expertly lying, I had provoked her in the process. Yes- B was the killer.

But this was a competition nonetheless. A battle of the wits. And the outcome of the case was resting on Naomi Misora's shoulders. A mere slip up could have proven vital unless I was to devote my time to it. However, the war of sorts began to involve innocent bystanders. Misora and Shadow being those bystanders. So, furthermore, the case needed to be done swiftly and with as less hassle possible. But provoking our devious little murderer was he only way we could lure him out…

However, friendly fire wasn't an option. I did not wish for this case to become personal to myself and Shadow in particular. But she was reluctant. A stubborn girl.

"_-Fine- let me take on the case-_" Feeling my eyes narrow, I straightforwardly replied.

"It's too risky- I want no harm to come of you. Promise me you will stay away from this case."

"-_Right.-_" she said. "_Goodbye, L.-_"

"Goodbye, Shadow." I shut down her system, not easing my mind in the slightest. Now, I was set on abetting Naomi Misora. "Watari, contact Aiber and Wedy and se if they have flown in yet. We need to take precautions." He nodded, leaving my side under order. Promptly, the voice filtered phone began to ring. "L." I answered, somewhat secretly relieved.

"Misora. Nothing happening here. I spoke to Ryuzaki earlier,"

B.

"But nothing has happened to his end either."

Of course.

"No sign of anything out of the ordinary. I'm starting to feel like we're in it for the long haul."

"I see. Don't let your guard down. As I said before, your backup is in position around the condominium, but if anything happens, they aren't close enough to respond immediately."

"I know."

"Additionally, a few minutes ago I dispatched two people to the condo itself. I wasn't sure if they could be there in time," Watari confirmed what I was about to say with a brief nod. "but it seems the weather was on our side. We were lucky."

"Eh?" she questioned. "But… that means"

"Don't worry. There is no chance the killer will notice. One of them is a professional infiltrator , and the other is a profession trickster…" Misora responded with a confused silence. "I can't tell you more, since you are an FBI agent, but basically a thief and a con-man."

"A thief…and a con-man?"

So, Naomi Misora…" I ignored her, bringing our conversation to an end.

"Um, er, L… You know the killer right?" she asked.

"Yes, as I said. He is B."

"I don't mean like that… I mean, he's someone you know personally?" I thought, Misora waiting on the line I was wary to comment, however, Misora seemed nerved. And was proving to be a trusting co-worker. Leading to my blunt reply, "Yes."

"…"

"But Naomi Misora, please keep that in the strictest confidence. The backup I have stationed near the condo, and the thief and the con-man inside it have not been told what case they are working on. They are better off not knowing. Since you asked, I don't mind telling you, but generally speaking, it was also something you were better off not knowing."

"I know." she said. "Either way, whoever B is, he is a dangerous criminal who has claimed the lives of three people for no good reason. But there are two more things I need to ask…"

"What?"

"You know the killer, but you have nothing to with him?"

"I have nothing to do with him. To be completely accurate, I do not even know B. He is simply someone I am aware of. But none of this affects my judgement. Certainly, I was interested in this case, and began to investigate it because I knew who the killer was. But it did not alter the way I investigated it, or the manner in which my investigation proceeded."

I was going along I would have originally gone along. L's way. My way. Otherwise, I wouldn't be beating B the way he desired. As the original and no other. I continued, "Naomi Misora, I cannot overlook evil. I cannot forgive it. It does not matter if I know the person who commits evil or not. I am only interested in justice."

Justice. Her soul ambition.

"Only…in…justice." she gasped in amazement. "Then… nothing else matters?"

"I wouldn't say that, but it's a priority."

"You wouldn't forgive any evil, no matter how evil it is?"

"I wouldn't say that, but it's a priority." I repeated. Feeling wary eyes set upon me, I glanced in Watari's direction. He furrowed his brows, seeming tense.

"L…" he whispered.

"But…" I continued on. "There are people who justice cannot save. And there are people who evil can save." Watari's eyes grew panicked, causing concern. "There are, but even so…" Scolding Misora lightly with suggestive words, but yet easing her worries, "Justice has more power than anything else"

"Power? By power… you mean strength?"

Power. What was power? Was it the ability to overcome others? To lead? Strength? No. Power- to influence. But to influence what? From years of experience, and knowledge, I found justice revolving around one variable in particular.

"Kindness." I mumbled.

"…"

"Naomi Misora?"

"…I misunderstood you L."

"Did you? Well I'm glad we got that out the way then. Quickly, what was the other thing you wished to speak to me about?"

"You just answered me then."

"Really now? How?"

"Well, the woman who came in pretty much said the same thing."

"Woman?" I gripped the phone tighter with my long fingers.

"You don't know her?" she was dumbfounded. "But she said the killer was B-"

"She's not answering her phone, L." Watari cut in.

"Stay on guard, Naomi Misora!" I yelled, cutting my end loose. "Watari, take me to the scene."

"As you wish…" Alerted I cupped the keys in my hand and ran aside Watari. Across the crowded corridors and flowing into the streets below.

There was one thing I avoided telling Naomi Misora. Although my involvement with the killer was irrelevant to the outcome of the case, Shadow was the exception. Learning that the boy she had spent most of her childhood with was the killer…

Learning that her first admirer was a cold-blooded murderer, a disturbance in her dream of a pure world, could she be trusted to pass a wise judgement? A friend over justice? The fifty-fifty chance she could pick B over L. That was what he was really fighting for. Her approval. Alas, my own conclusion had been made upon following events.

The tremors that shook the ground violently, bringing his castle down.

* * *

**Beyond's P.O.V**

"The poor sod," I giggled, turning the thumb lock on the door slowly behind me. Looking around thoroughly, I smirked. Alone. "Just as I planned." I purred sliding an arm under the davenport opposite. Pulling out a Wara Ningyo and nailing it firmly to the wall opposite the door. It was a plain room, astonishingly. There was no abnormal décor, no abnormal fetishes the owner had, which, funnily enough, made the room abnormal. An anomaly, in fact. The deceased victims beforehand, stuffed animals mounded up to the ceiling in an orderly manner, many useless books tightly stacked into shelves, untouched, and a small , but extremely messy, apartment.

Then again, I did make them that way to begin with. I mean- stuffed animals? No. What average woman in her mid-twenties carries such a strange burden on her back? Can you imagine cleaning day? All the moving of the furniture, all the random bits of fluff embedded into the carpets, who would put up with that? And manga series? For a man in his forties? Surely the police couldn't miss that.

I'm sorry? They did? Oh. My mistake!

Upon nailing the Wara Ningyo successfully to the wall, I checked for alignment. "Perfectly in line with the thumb locks…" I mumbled, smiling that little bit more. Everything was perfect.

Now for a little spring cleaning. Dusting every possible placement of a fingerprint, every inch of muck, everything down to cleaning the insides of a plug socket. But don't worry- I was careful. Now, there was only one thing left to do:

Douse my clothes in a rich, and extremely flammable, gasoline.

Hneh Hneh… I know what you're thinking. Why clean your house then mess it up again! Just kidding, you're wondering why… Why had I made myself the final victim? Well why not? My initials are B.B correct? Then I fit the agenda perfectly. Also, who's going to suspect the victim actually being the murderer? It's the perfect way to go out… Each victim killed brutally, but with a different method, then the last one, burnt to a crisp. _Beyond _recognition. _Beyond _the point that not even L himself would be able to identify my body? And then I win. Knowing that L can never solve the case. He'd continue searching for B… And never catching him. There were some other reasons, but they aren't important.

I picked the large container of gasoline up rising it high above me. My knees shook as I progressed to tip a small amount of the gasoline over the base of my head. As the weight became easier to handle, I gladly poured more onto my shoulders and down my back and onto my legs. A burning sensation rested gently on my skin as I put the remaining liquid down. I sighed, grabbing my wash cloth and wiping the top and the sides of the container. No fingerprints. "A fitting end for the greatest serial killer in the world." I chuckled, half-heartedly. Don't judge- I'm about to kill myself for God's sake. It's distressing, no matter what the circumstances.

And what makes it worse it that I wasn't _entirely _confident that I was going to die.

You see, I have a gift of sorts… Shinigami eyes. I can see the names, and their remaining life span by just glancing above their oblivious heads. Marvellous, isn't it? Well, unfortunately, there is one fault. I have yet to see my own. It makes sense, after all, why would a god of death wish to see their own life span? When theirs most likely won't end? Which is what worries me… Can I actually die? I had been awarded this gift free of charge. So there's a _slight _(I'd say roughly 60%) chance that I _may _not be human. But I'd have to improvise around that disadvantage, wouldn't I? But, do not fear. I am aware that even a superior being such as a Shinigami can die.

But only if it learns to love. Something I'm not capable of doing. Well…That's not important either. In fact- no. I take that back. It is important.

Shadow.

I know her name, when she'll die, I know everything about her. Although she is the one I hold dearest to my heart, I wouldn't say it was 'love'. Rather, I've had her a while, I care about her,

And she belongs to _me_. No other.

And now you're thinking: "Awwww he loves her! That's so kawaii!" Well, SHUT UP. My personal life has nothing to do with nitwits like you.

Now, onto my personal life…

A few weeks prior, I happened to staying at Wammy's still. Within those few weeks, my acquaintance, A, had died. But that wasn't why I left. No.

I left because the original had take something that wasn't originally his.

I was lounging around in the kitchen, feasting upon a jar or two of Hartley's Strawberry jam. When I came upon overhearing the current arrangements, "We're all invited to the wedding of L and S! WOW! L has a girlfriend! And we're all invited!"

You have no idea how pissed I was.

I had not seen my friend, Shadow, S, whatever, for roughly four months. She was one of the 'lucky' children to be selected to work with L on an upcoming case. I grimaced at the thought of her leaving my side, leaving me alone with not a person to talk to. She smiled gracefully and stroke my face gently: "I won't be gone that long, B. And it's not like I'm going to forget about you!"

"But the chances of you even returning are slim. Quillish didn't."

"Shhh, B. I'm not sure how you know his name but spouting it out in public is not a good thing. Papa's worked hard for us…"

"Right."

She sighed, kissing the tip of my nose lightly. "Just be good. And if I don't come back, then come find me!"

"I will."

So, four months later, she hasn't returned. And I find out through our caretaker's letter that she us to be married. And that is when I decided to leave. I had nothing to stay for.

And I was going to keep my promise. So I hovered outside her window, several stories up above the concrete ground below. I kicked my feet as far back as I could, gripping onto the ridges the wall. And I peered in, the old man in view. His face glowed with happiness, putting a hand out welcomingly. And small, slender hand connected with his. Followed by a porcelain figure in a snow dress, long strands of black ribbon tied tightly around her chest, flattering her large bust just that little bit more. And flames of crimson locks dripped over ebony hair. A true definition of beauty on one's wedding day…

But that ceremonial day, in question, would never see daylight. For the numbers shrouding over her naïve self were decreasing rapidly…

A matter of hours until her last breath. A matter of blinks before she shuts her eyes forevermore. And a matter of beats before her heart stops pounding warm blood to any vital organs, gradually shutting down her body. And I was expected to speculate. And not act upon it.

A half hour would pass, and her 'father' would leave. Leaving the girl alone to die. A victim of time, only her clock may have ticked for years to come.

Until, of course, the clockwork was removed. All the cogs, operating in sync inside of her, and yet- removing one small, but vital, piece of the mechanism could drastically changing the way the clock works. And let's just face it- they won't have time to rust. _Somebody _must be responsible for her just to shut down like so…

Oh don't be sick. I'm not going to premeditate her murder! It would cause suspicion, for one. Have I not told what I'm about to do? But the urge to take a look inside…To see how she ticked… Was unbearable. Of course, I mean it figuratively.

Eventually, I introduced myself. And, after a long winding conversation, I decided to part my ways with her. Why? Because she was blinded by a false hopes of love. Bringing her to the decision, nonetheless, to side with my nemesis. And- I won't lie- it broke me.

Imagine you were Batman. As a child, your parent's died, orphaning you and leaving behind their infinite riches, and no one to spend it on but yourself and your butler… No family, no friends, nothing but the vision to change the world. Become a superhero.

Well, I'd hate to burst your pathetic little bubble, but Batman is _not _a superhero. Rather a child pretending to be what he is not. Child's play. Running around the place thinking he has these incredible mind-blowing powers that could inevitably change the world as we know it. He's smug, and can have any girl he wants by clicking his fingers.

Now lets bind to marvel comics together, Superman. In reference to his weakness. His kryptonite. Put under it's power, he become's an average civilian. Powerless against any of Lex Luthor's forces. And then, there's Lois Lane. The love of his life, the one he holds so dearly.

Now, merge those two together. Just follow my theory: Without his Lois Lane, Batman becomes weak. Defeated. Already powerless, Batman becomes unable to perform any heroic deed in mind. Leaving him alone, no friends, no family, and hated by others. And eventually, his butler shall decay away…

This is how I view L. A blend of Batman and Superman. And without his Lois Lane, he becomes worthless. His butler, the only thing he had that resembled a father, dying shortly after. So alas, the villain defeats him. And all is well. You don't need it spelling out to you who I am referring to his 'Lois Lane', do you? Good. This is how I wish for him to turn out. Defeated and broken.

The minor problem in my plot being, I'm Superman. Only my power, is my weakness. And, without my Lois Lane, I am no one. The problem being, how can I make him weak, without taking away my Lois Lane in the process? Get her to join forces. That's how.

It didn't work.

Hence, why I am to let her die. Shadow. After I defeat him individually, he will deal another blow, the death of his fiancée. His Lois Lane. Reducing him to a pile of rubble. Making my victory visible to the public eye. And if I was to die anyhow, I would no longer _need _my Lois Lane to maintain my sanity. To keep me strong. Yet, another reason as to why I am my last victim.

So I kept my fingers crossed, hoping for the best.

Taking a moment's silence for myself, I took my bag out in front of me. Creeping a hand inside and pulling out the Zippo lighter and resting it on the table. And, finally, emptying the last of my stuff onto the floor in a small huddle. Containing a few jars of jam, a gun, and a knife. I leaned down, picked the knife up loosely in my left hand, and held it to my right elbow. Proceeding to break the skin slightly.

That's right, I'm cutting off my arm. Freaky, huh? Well, what I was planning to do was cut off a random chunk of me, burning that first having being covered in oil beforehand, and then expertly dispose of the knife via toilet. It wasn't a chunky, butcher's knife. Just a small, but deadly sharp, cheese knife previously used in my other murders. Could easily be flushed down the toilet. Why am I putting myself through more pain than I need to? Because I wanted to prevent the murder looking like suicide by matching the level of gore in other murders. As for the weapon disposal, tests could easily be run on the murder weapon, such as license checks, and they could instantly find me. Making my sacrifice a bit…pointless.

Hot tears welded in my dark eyes, as I sliced the knife smoothly across my arm withholding my cries of pain. I heaved in slowly, holding the knife to the wound, and slicing across the trail. "Ack…!" I yelped biting my lip in urgency. A few more cuts until the joint was completely severed. "Hneh…Hneh… Looks like I'm in the lead, L"

*Click*

I gasped. Squeezing my heavily bleeding arm and staring darts into the opened thumb lock. The one I locked behind me. Quickly, a shadow whooshed passed me and grabbed the gun on the floor. "Nice try, Misora." I grumbled, tightening my grip, I gashed my weapon across her chest. Blood splattered the beige wallpaper. I swiped the Zippo and lit the tip of my finger. The flame sparked violently up my arm, crossing along to the next arm and covering my body. "Ryuzaki!" I heard a muffled voice from the other side of the door.

*BANG*

A blurred figure with a fire extinguisher busted through the door, dousing me in a cool relieving foam. Regardless, I collapsed. My body singed and charred beyond recognition. "Ryuzaki! Can you hear me!" Naomi's word slurred, as I floated in and out of consciousness. My heart pounded out of my chest. Naomi grabbed my limp arm searching eagerly for a pulse.

"Ahh…. Uhn.."

"Ryuzaki!" Relieved, she dropped my wrist to the bloody floor. "…Rue Ryuzaki."

"…"

"I arrest you on suspicion o f the murders of Believe Bridesmaid, Quarter Queen, and Backyard Bottomslash. You do not have the right to remain silent, you do not have the right to an attorney, and you do not have the right to a fair trial."

"…"

I was done for. Beaten. And if it hadn't had been for the intruder moments before, my life would have been swiftly taken.

"…!"

I stiffened, a bitter taste forming in my mouth.

Naomi, entering moments before, was unharmed. Entering moments before.

Moments before the intruder.

Who had I just slashed across the chest?

"Where…?" I shook violently. "Woma…"

"?" Naomi sternly glared at me, grabbing my legs and dragging me out of the smoke filled room.

"Wom…an!" I screeched. Pointing an arm back to the room.

"There's no one in there…" she confirmed, wafting away the black clouds forming in front of her.

"…" What? _Surely_ the woman in there could have not escaped. The windows were tightly shut, and there was no other way to enter the apartment. _Surely _Naomi must have caught a glimpse of her. Where else could she have…

The bathroom!

"Ba-" I stopped. My body froze. My eyes narrowed.

And the ground shook.

"Aiieeee!" A shrill scream from inside the apartment. Naomi instantly was alerted.

"Miss! Hang in there!"

"B-Beyond!"

My heart stopped.

Beyond.

The walls crumbled, the floors cracked, and the rumbling continued. The whole story, collapsing in on itself.

And then the screams stopped.

L.A. Located near the San Andreas Fault. Very prone to Earthquakes. August 22nd, an earthquake occurred, hitting the magnitude of 5.9 on the Richter Scale. Many were injured severely, but there were no reported deaths.

But one.

A young woman in her late teens was found under the rubble of a condominium in Pasadena. Autopsy reports show that this woman fell a few stories up, but before the earthquake occurred, the woman was gashed across the chest by your average household cheese knife showing signs of assault. Burns were located on the entire left side of the woman's body. But the main cause of death was from loss of blood. The killer is unknown, as is the woman's identity.

To everyone but me.

S.

Shadow.

I'm sorry…

* * *

**Reviews please. And I'll update quicker :) Check out my poll and what not. And don't be afraid to message me!**


	9. Chapter 8: The Eyes Of Misfortune

**Author's Note- Ok- I know I haven't updated in a while and everything. So here's yet another chapter of my Death Note story. Just to let you know- I will soon be starting a Phoenix Wright FanFic with only one main OC, but the original characters are going to be there mostly I think. I haven't decided. There WILL be pairings with the orginal characters. So if you're interested- look out for it and review please :) I do take requests, but I intend these requests in being one-shots or two-shots unless I REALLY like the idea. Impress me guys :D**

**OH and before I forget, I have recently checked my Trick Or Treat Poll. The one with the most votes has now been selected. But will the consequences in the story be good or bad for our little OCs :P I'll let you find out.**

**Once you're done reading this chapter, why don't you give me a nice, honest review? :) I REALLY want to improve my writing ability. Thanks and enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter Eight- The Eyes of Misfortune

**Shadow's P.O.V**

"…_Well, this is convenient. Heh." A bitter voice echoed through the empty atmosphere that I had been emerged in. Sensing the invisible monster stare down at me mischievously, an anxious fluttery feeling filled me._

"_Who is that?" I asked, not feeling my lips part as I spoke. A patch of eerie darkness had grabbed me. I squirmed uncomfortably, but drastically failed. I could not move. I could not speak. My limbs were completely paralysed._

_Or rather missing._

"_Doesn't matter. Anyway, I got a gift for you. I need to ditch these eyes fast before the King sees me…"_

"_Eyes?"_

"_Yeah- Shinigami eyes, you know."_

"_What!"_

"_Anyway, take them, and you get to live. What d'ya say?"_

"_Um, alright?" I agreed, resigning, and enforcing a deal with the demon. A feeling of intense trepidation clouded my mind as the creature snickered impishly. For when thee devil torments thee, 'ere thee come to hell. A good deed is always committed through selfishness. A gruff laugh escaped his mouth shortly, but developed into a slightly more serious tone._

"_Right, we'll be seeing each other soon then do discuss your new responsibilities…"_

_Responsibilities._

"_Wait, what? For how long are you leaving me?"_

"_Until the time's right. Bye, human!"_

"…"

I shivered feeling a cold metal sensation pressing against my back as I landed softly on my back. My neck cracked as I stretched my aching joints, and a sore, stiff sensation ran down both of my lengthily arms. Rolling my shoulders back bravely, I winced, feeling each minor joint in each of my arms click loudly. I brought my hands to my face, rubbing my heavy, closed eyes. I ran my fingers over the top of my eyelids, tracing the round shape of each eye. _There not mine…_ I cupped my face. _They're someone else's. Eyes of the dead. _I shook again, hovering my hands over into my dry brittle hair. Whimpering softly, I unscrewed my eyelids, forcing my watery eyes to fix open.

I was trapped in a dark, metal container, and covered in a thin blanket material. It was exceedingly cramped, and carried a putrid odour in the stuffy air, but I could just about make out a little door with a glimpse of light shining through it. I shuffled forward painfully, aligning my small legs with the metal door, slamming the soles of my bare feet into the back of it. Clenching the soft blanket over my naked body, I planted my hand onto the side of the box, pushing myself out on a had metal tray I so happened to be laying on.

Sitting forward, the muscles running down my back strained. _I actually died._ I pulled a face_. But how am I here now? _Mini electric shocks ran up and down my arm as I touched my skin gently with my hand. My skin was chilled, but melting back into it's original temperature, and my skin was pearly white, compared to my usual pallid tone.

A strong, ghastly odour of festering organs filled the room, gagging me of breath. On the table in opposite me lay a man. No taller than the average man, but remained nothing but a grey statue on the table . A lifeless object. Small Quiffs of grey hair fell into the bloody mess that lay beneath it, and a large slice massacred his aged face. The wound was black, and infested with larvae of different insects and spiders. The cut starting from above his right eyebrow, passing straight through his colourless eyes and to the bottom of his chin. Not pretty. Not at all attractive.

Drifting down his body, I came to his feet. A small rectangular tag was tied loosely to his big toe. I wandered over, picking the tag up. "Nathaniel Grey," I said. "Shame." I caught sight of his face once again, frowning lightly. _Why can't I see when he died? Perhaps it only works on the living? _

"Can I prevent this?"

I leaned forward over the metal bench that the mangled corpse had been spread across, tearing apart each cut from incision. My shoulders drooped, and squared, as I examined the 'Y' shaped stitching on the dead man's chest. "I'm going to prevent this," I assured. "I'm going to save lives… Promote justice in a corrupt world."

_I'm going to rid criminals from this world._

Using the cloth I was clutching softly, I covered the man's corpse, throwing the cover into the air and letting it float lightly onto his hard, bruised skin. I drifted into the next room calmly, allowing a draft to send small chills down my spine. In the next room stood tall, metallic lockers that shone in the florescent lights hanging from the ceiling. The rest of the room was a simplicity, light blue walls and polished laminate flooring and long, wooden benches ran in between each column of lockers. I caressed the metal handle of one of the lockers, heaving it back slowly until the catch within the door snapped out of its hold. The door, naturally, creaked open.

Inside, to my fortune, lay several pairs of clean, turquoise scrubs on the middle shelf of the locker. Aside it was a pair of tightly packed latex gloves and a surgical mask. I gathered them all into a bundle and turned to face the benches behind. "…!" I gaped for air, dropping the bundle loosely to the floor.

I touched my chest gently, tracing it down to my left side. Along my left side, scar tissue had already formed, sealing the marks there. I reached out, grabbing at the reflective inside of the locker door, creating a fist of air, and thrusting my arm into the door. Keeping my forearm in touch with the door, I drummed out a fast beat, until my arm throbbed gently. I slid down the cold metal, weeping softly into my arms.

Beauty was skin deep, and all that remained on my skin was the marks of my recent past.

I squeezed my knees to my chest, clutching desperately for the scrubs beside me. "I'd rather be dead…" I whimpered. "I want to die. It's not fair…"

"_Well aren't we happy, heh."_

"!"

"_Woah- you're naked. Heheheh."_

I pressed my hands to my mouth, concealing my cries for help. He drifted closer, his arms dragging heavily behind his skeletal body. Black, jagged wings of feathers spread out wide behind his back. He grinned a toothy Cheshire cat smile and cackled over me. "Scared?" A pair of piercing red eyes bored into the back of my petrified skull. "Gonna put some clothes on, sugar? You could catch death in this cold… Heh."

"It's not cold." I managed, forcing my arms through the hole of the shirt, and pressed myself warily against the lockers. "What do you want?" He cocked his head and laughed, "Well?"

"I told you I was comin' back." he said. "We're going to spending quite a lot of time together, human."

"Fine," I sighed, slipping the pants on over my bare legs. "Can we walk and talk?"

"Hmph- fine." His voice sounded hoarse.

I grabbed the surgical mask from the waxed floor, loosely tying a knot behind my head and running my hands through my hair. "Take your time… But I wouldn't take to long, heh heh."

"Who's in there?" I gasped, hearing a soft voice from outside the door. Pulling themselves in through the doorway, a young man with damp, unkempt hair and a pair of identical scrubs to mine walked in. He looked bewilderedly down at me. "Erm…" An uncomfortable look set on me.

"Ah!" I squeaked, jumping up suddenly, but failed, banging my head into the corner of the metal locker door. "Oww." I clenched my head helplessly.

"Are you ok?" he frowned, grabbing my small tender hands and lifting me onto my feet. I sheepishly smiled through my mask, looking away at the wall.

"I'm terribly sorry!" I blushed, batting my eyes sweetly and pulling down my mask. "I'm new… And I-I've sort of had the day from hell." He laughed gently, beaming widely in my direction.

"Hey- I'm an intern too! No worries!" he smiled. "You look young for an intern though- how old are you?"

"18... I finished earlier than everyone else- hehe." He chuckled, hanging an arm loosely round his neck. "Could you help me? Erm… Someone's stolen my clothes again…"

"Again?"

"The guys in the morgue are always playing jokes on me." I moaned. "They're horrible to me."

"Ah…" He sympathetically patted me on the back. The creature snickered, hanging in almost a lifeless fashion in the air.

"_Quite the actress… heh heh heh." _

"I'll tell you what- here's $200!" he stuffed the stack of notes into my face excitedly. "Here just take it!"

"W-What!" I said, truly dumbfounded. "Surely you can't be serious!"

"Awww- cute accent! What are you- Australian?" his eyes had a childish glow to them. "It's fine! Just take it!"

"O-ok…" I grabbed the green notes from his large open hand, and returned a small smile. Thank you, doctor. You have no idea how much this has helped."

"Ahhh call me Derek! Doctor is too formal!" he adjusted his glasses, smiling. "You got a name?"

Yeah… Grey." I held tightly to the wad of money in my hand.

"Nice name! It suits you!" he continued. "I hope I get to see you again soon! Hey- maybe next time we meet I'll be a successful doctor!"

"With that attitude, you can be what ever you want to be."

"Thanks, haha! I'll be seeing you soon then!" He waved, leaving the room with a slight spring to his step.

"Bye Dr. Stiles!" I waved him away. As soon as he left, my arms swung loosely back to my side sorrowfully.

"Heh… I'd be careful- he didn't give you a last name." the alien-like being mumbled.

"I know." I spoke, looking down at my bare remorsefully. I sighed, and began strolling further into the hospital. "Let's go."

"Already? Awww- I'm beginning to like it here." he stared, scraping his claws on his chin. Ignorantly, I left through the open door. "Hey- I was only messing with you!"

"…" I strode down the sickened corridors of the hospital, marching straight to the reception.

"Not talking now?"

"…" The nurse behind the desk watched me over her big framed glasses, smiling pleasantly at me.

"What can I do for you doctor?"

"A list of the burn victims recently submitted to the hospital, please. It's slightly urgent." I tapped my fingernails anxiously on the marble surface. Slowly, the nurse opened up a document onto the screen.

"If you're looking for that killer guy- he's on the second floor." she yawned.

"_Huh? Killer guy? What're you up to?"_

"Thank you, Nina." I smiled, my eyes drifting slightly above her head. "…Got a husband Nina?"

"What?" she laughed. "What's it to ya?"

"I…." I paused, flattening my palms onto the desk and sliding them towards me. "Just make sure you ring him this evening, ok?" I stared plainly at her face, grabbing the chart off the side and pushing away from the desk. I fast-walked to the elevator and slipped inside quickly. It was deserted, and quite basic compared to the rest of the hospital I had yet to see. Suddenly, the inside of the elevator had distorted, wobbling the air all around me. Alas, the creature had formed once again, his face stuck in the same grin. He moved his arms in front of him like a puppet, and groaned loudly.

"Stop ignoring me." he sulked, looking emotionless at me. "Where are you going?"

"We can talk after this… But first, I need to visit a loved one…" I grumbled, looking down at the charts for a 'Rue Ryuzaki'. "Then, we can do whatever."

**[Present Day- Task Force Headquarters]**

**Hope's P.O.V**

"_Hope…!_" I heard a soft voice yell out in panic as I drooped forward weakly, unable to take in any air. "_Somebody help! Roger! Hope stay awake!" _My eyes rolled back slowly, my vision blurring, merging into different colours as I tried to focus on the person. My frail arms dropped to the floor almost lifeless, and my head wilted to the side, deprived from oxygen.

"…_Wake up… Wake… up!"_

"Wake up, Hope."

"N-Near?"

"Hell no!" a boy snapped in an aggressively. I opened my eyes, looking around lost. Focusing and fixing them onto the shiny silver foil of a luxurious bar of dark chocolate. Mello snorted, snapping the corner sharply off with his milky teeth.

"Hey," I grabbed the metal bars on either side of the bed, lifting myself up into an upright position.

"Hey." Mello lazily placed the back of his new leather boots onto the foot of the bed.

"Where's Near?"

"At Wammy's," He folded his arms. "He didn't want to come."

"Oh," I frowned. Near's voice had fused itself onto my memory. Near's cries for help filling the air. Such emotion he had poured out through his voice, but, in Wammy's house, a sound could not be heard. And to awake without him by my side felt strangely out of place.

Mello shuffled, leaning forward and reaching into his boots, pulling out a blackberry phone. "What are you doing?"

"Calling Matt, he's had to go somewhere." he mumbled quietly in a much softer tone. The phone rang continuously, until Mello became irritated and hung up the phone, tossing it on the bed. "He's bringing your cat."

"Ok." As silence filled the room, my eyes searched the plain room. It had became apparent that I was in a hospital. Every wall was doused in a placid green paint that looked almost freshly painted on. The furniture was quite simplistic for a hospital, putting aside the large monitor attached to my left arm. The chairs were a clean white, and the small table at the bedside was a smooth sycamore where an apple green iPod covered by an Ed Hardy design was tangled in the wires of the headphones had been thrown. In the far left corner, a primitive make of a Samsung TV flickered. The channel in question was the news- Kira had spread all over the main headlines.

"Imbeciles!" Mello raged, "I hate the fucking news- they spit a load of false hopes into their audience about Kira being gone, and all that shit. Hell- they even _encourage _the beliefs of this so called 'God'. Are they seriously submitting to such a petty criminal!"

"I wouldn't say his acts would match the ones of a petty criminal, however, I do see what you are trying to say." My hand grabbed the player on the bedside table, shuffling through the different artists excitedly. "Is this yours, Mello?" I smiled.

"Yes. What are you doing with-" he hesitated, looking away to the TV again and fidgeting uncomfortably. "Why?"

"I was going to ask if I could listen to it, but never mind."

"Just put it on. I don't mind." he sounded tired, and his eyes glimmered with what looked to be annoyance. I popped the buds into my ears, and nuzzled back into the big fluffed up pillow, drowning out the sound of the news in the background.

"I've always liked your music taste, Mello." A small glimpse of a smile twitched violently on his stone face.

"I'm back," a voice beckoned over the fierce guitar solo. I flicked the music off, glancing up at the intruder. Matt stood grinning ear to ear, and a beige pet carrier in his hand. "Ah- Hope!" he chuckled, setting the carrier to the side of the bed. "What's up?"

"Oh nothing much. I'm just sat in a hospital bed… Wondering how I got here… you?" He laughed, taking liberty in sitting on my bed, on top of my legs. But I shrugged off the pain quite quickly. With no hesitation, a gameboy was pulled out of his front pocket, immediately alighting his face in multiple colours. "Matt," I called him.

No answer.

"Matt," I stressed his name.

"Yeah?" he slurred, eyes narrowing dangerously as he attached himself to the screen.

"Gonna tell me why I'm in here, Matt?"

"Nah, the doctor will do it."

"Matt."

"Sup?"

"Can I at least pet Van Gogh?" He nodded in trance, reaching down and beginning his expedition for the cat carrier. He plonked it sluggishly onto my lap, turning the twisty-knobs and opening the latch. "Vanny!" I rubbed my fingers together calling his name softly. "C'mon out!"

"I'd rather you kept it in there, miss!" The doctor towered over my bed, looking expectantly down out me. He had a thin, plucked moustache set above his thin lips, which contrasted his mildly bald head. He clicked his pen irritably, before placing it in the pocket of his white shirt. "No animals."

"Oh fine then." I grunted, pushing Van Gogh's little paws back inside his cage. "So, what's up with me then?"

"We've run some scans, and it seems you had some quite severe lesions on your lungs." His voice was annoying, to put it bluntly. "I would ask for family history, but the man your with wont even tell me your name." He stared at me, his body arching over my bed. "Why is that?"

"Because I don't know it, dip-shit." I said with venom, resisting the urge to assault him became harder to fight. Mello's jaw dropped the slightest, before regaining his cool ego again. "I can't remember anything dating back from when I was a small child."

"Interesting." He removed his pen, clicking the top and began to take notes.

"So, I suspect I have tumours. Benign ones at that." I quickly concluded. "I have had no other symptoms, other than the wrenching pain I've had in my chest recently. And by recently, I mean a few hours before I lost consciousness." I glanced down, admiring the neat bandages rapped tightly around my bust. "And it seems you've already taken care of them. Nice job."

"Yes… I'm going to assume the boys told you."

"Ok. Can I leave now?"

"I'm afraid you can't yet, miss."

"Eh? Why?" I moaned. Matt cocked his head up. Listening.

"Because there is a specialist coming to question you about your identity." he grinned, looking almost amused. "I'm not one on detail, but apparently your medical records are similar to the ones of another girl… Around bout your age as well I say."

"What's your point?" Mello intercepted the conversation. "There are a lot of girls with medical problems. And I wouldn't be surprised if a few shared a birthday with her, for fuck's sake."

"Oh- I _assure _you it's more complicated than that." He clipped a piece of paper to the board in his hand and wrote some more. "But, if I were you, I wouldn't go with a poor excuse like 'long-term amnesia'. That won't settle well on your record, and makes a poor alibi."

"Alibi?" Matt joined in. "Why what's happened?"

"Don't worry though, your carer has been informed-"

"Answer the fucking question!" Mello stood high with his fist hovering dangerously close to the doctor's face.

"M-Mello no violence! Please…?" I pleaded.

"It's ok- he'll be going to prison _with you if he lay a finger on me."_

"Prison!" I mimicked. He nodded, maintaining the smug look he had not let down since he first entered the room.

"I think I shall take my leave now. Good luck, criminal scum." He left promptly, leaving me unnerved. Mello, Matt, and I had been sentenced to silence. Matt sadly looked at me, his game hung loosely from his hand. Mello sat back down, holding the wig of blonde hair in his hands that were resting lightly on his lap. He sighed, turning his head angrily to the side, gritting his milky teeth, and piercing into my skull with his ice blue eyes.

"Hope, what the fuck have you done?" he said in nearly a whisper. A feeling of dread clenched firmly onto my chest, and my eyes shook as warm salty tears built within them.

"I can't remember." I sobbed.

* * *

**Uh oh- what's Hope got herself into? :P And I wonder what Shadow is up to at the Task Force... Stay tuned to find out!**

**Reviews please :) Keep me motivated!**


	10. Chapter 9: Memories

**Ok guys- I've had to replace Chapter 9 with this one. It's the same one but I changed some information in it that was vital so that the story made sense :3**

**Also, I'm going to start a short story based on the Ace Attorney Series/Miles Edgworth Investigations, so I hope you guys can check it out if you like the game :3**

**Please keep the reviews coming! I love you guys! :3**

* * *

"_Why are you here!"_

"_Calm down- I'm here for you…"_

"_No- it's not my time yet. Hneh hneh... You can't take me! "_

"_You have a long time left so don't talk like that. I'm real, B."_

"_You're… How!"_

"_I don't know myself, Beyond…" _

* * *

Playful colours of purples and oranges streamed through the solemn atmosphere, swirling into the dark pink clouds surrounding the dimming light, that cast a black silhouette shrouding over the tall, stately buildings of Tokyo. The Sun, itself, had an ambient glow slowly disappearing into the shadows.

Shadows.

Everything seemed to disappear into the shadows. The dark. Even after life.

"Shadow, you ok darlin'?" Aiber's strong, Californian accent shone through his concerned look. I smiled, and nodded. Not wishing to take matters further than they needed to go. He sat across from me, feeling the whiskers of his beard thoughtfully. "You sure?"

"No need to worry, Aiber. I'm just tired." I lied.

"You know, lying to a con man is pretty hard." He took a match in his hand, striking it across its box and lighting the cigarette in his mouth. "We're expert liars." he smirked.

"Hmmm, you don't have to tell me twice." An aloof, tall woman had swept in almost silently. She hid behind her glasses, but it became apparent that the older blonde was bored. She faced Aiber, her expression indifferent on her powdery face. "Gimme a light?"

"Sure." Aiber struck another match. She flipped out a long, black filter from her handbag fixing a cigarette onto the end. She leaned in towards the flame, and took short drag from the end, her dark glossy lips pressing to it tiredly.

"You know what, girl?" Wedy exhaled the smoke slowly. "You look familiar. We've worked together before?"

"Perhaps." I said. "Normally, L would have me work in the background. But I don't think we've ever encountered one another."

"No, we've met you before." she sighed, peeking over at me past her shades. "I remember your face."

"Well I don't know then, Miss. L liked to keep me out of the way. I can honestly say this is my first-"

"What do you mean _liked_?" A scornful gaze. Challenging her intelligence, I laughed.

"Well, L is letting me meet who I'm dealing with now. Therefore, he _liked _keeping me out of the way, but he _doesn't _now." I stripped her conceited smile, reducing her of her pride.

"Don't mock me," she flicked the gathering ash on her filter into one of the few ashtrays on the surface dividing us. "I'm right, aren't I? You're here for other reasons than the Kira Case."

"I don't see how that's relevant, W."

"Ah! Ryuzaki." Aiber stood.

"Hello." L smiled, standing in the doorway that Wedy must have come from. A shiny plate of fine china was being grasped loosely in his hand. A large slice of cake. Strawberry cake. "You're not busy are you, Shadow?" he spoke softly.

"Not at all." He smiled, again. He held up his other hand allowing a clean fork to dangle back and forth like the pendulum of a grandfather clock.

"Care to join me?"

"Sure!" I smiled coyly, bouncing up from the sofa and waddling shortly after him. We settled in the main room, where the only available light source were the electronic glow of the large projector centred in the middle of the room. Quickly, L lifted his knees to his chest, taking on his monkey-like posture on his chair, balancing the plate on his knee caps. I took a seat on the floor in front of him quietly. Gazing up, I smiled. "Thanks for the help back there…"

"No need to thank me." he smiled, passing me a fork with a chunk of cake skewered on it. "It is important that your identity remains a mystery. Your life is potentially at risk just being here."

"I know." I chewed on the end of the fork.

"Then again," he dragged on. "I do not think Kira could kill you without your name… But Kira has proven himself to be capable of much more- killing with a face alone. This is why I do not want you socialising to much with Wedy and Aiber. Considering they are connected to that case…"

"I understand, L"

"Good," He softly smirked down at me, and I smirked back. I nibbled on the end of the clean fork puckishly. He laughed and showed me the plate. There's was enough left for another bite, but nothing more. "Would you like it?"

"Yes please," I anticipated, but at the last minute, a counter fork had appeared battling my own. My cheeks warmed, my glance returning to the sly face of a detective.

"Too bad," he smiled, locking the utensils together. I struggled to gain control again, and became irritated. "You cannot free your fork? Then I suppose that means that-"

I banged on the plate with my opposing hand sending the morsel soaring upwards into the air. L let out a little cry, stumbling forwards with his hands held out. I pounced up and catching the cake in a quick snap of the teeth, a small sense of accomplishment spread through me. But, forgetting that previously L had lost balance, he landed clumsily on top of me. His face buried into my chest.

And before we could both properly react, a rather camp, selfish, well-groomed boy that neither of us were very fond of graced us with his unfortunate presence. "R-Ryuzaki?" he stifled a laugh. "I should have known there was something going on behind the scenes…" L turned his head, his deep-set, dark eyes watching Light carefully.

"Hello Light." he murmured. "Do you need something?"

"Um, yeah.." he said. "Could you… get up first? I feel kinda awkward with the position you're in."

"Very well.." Slowly, L peeled his thin body from mine, and retreated to his seat. He tucked his knees in tight to his chest, and chewed thoughtfully on his thumb. "What is it, Light-kun?"

"…It's more of a private matter, Ryuzaki" he murmured. His face twisted into a kind smile, and he knelt down at my side. "I think Watari was looking for you, Shadow. He's in his office if you want to go talk to him."

"Alright." I sighed. I ambled towards Watari's office door slowly. I smiled, reminiscing the sweet memories of Watari's office at the orphanage. The winded corridors of varnished wood echoing each step my small legs would allow me to go. Watari would greet me, ruffling my long black hair softly between his fingers, and we would sit and have tea with L. He would ask me the most peculiar questions.

"Miss Shadow, why do you dye your hair unnatural colours?"

"_Because I feel like it."_

"S, would you risk your life for justice?"

"_Without justice, life isn't really worth living."_

"Can you describe how you're feeling right now?"

"_Hungry, haha!"_

"Shadow, are you happy at Wammy's?"

"_M-more than happy, Lawliet…"_

Coming back to the present day, I knocked, and allowed myself in. Behind a small computer desk, Watari relaxed into his large leather chair, his tired arms folded neatly on his lap. He looked up through his thin-framed glasses and chuckled. "Hello Shadow."

"Papa, " I nodded.

"I have something to show you…" He flicked the drawer on his desk open, and pulled out a yellow file. "There's this case I wanted you to take care of for L. Do you mind, Shadow?"

"Why can't L take care of it? Isn't he taking on cases as well as the Kira case?"

"Well, yes… But I think this one is a bit more personal to you." he said quietly. He pushed the file closer to me across the desk. "Please take a look…" I grabbed the file, skimming through the pages.

"She's from Wammy's?" I said to myself. "There's not much in here to work with, Papa. There's not even a name, or any clue as to what the case is about." A piece of paper slipped out of the folder and hovered down to the floor. "Is this the girl?" I picked up the paper, a sketch of a young woman done in black and white.

"Since she is from the orphanage, and we're working the Kira case, it'd only be dangerous to send an actual photograph out."

"Does she have a name?"

"Still as sharp as a tack I see…" he laughed merrily. "Her alias is Hope. However, we don't know her real name…" His face dulled down a tone, his voice becoming humourless. "Roger found her in the park next to the memorial..."

"!" My body tensed briefly. I stared at Watari in disbelief. "She doesn't remember her name, does she?" He shook his head.

"She's joint second in line to succeed L, and can't trace of her past other than her likes and dislikes." He removed his glasses, polishing them on his crisp clean suit. "A phenomenon…"

"It is indeed." I frowned. "I assume there is more to the case than that."

"Yes… She is a suspect in a vital case." He collected the files from my hand, handing me another file from his drawers. I scanned the text inside carefully.

"Oh-!" I coughed, dropping the sheets onto his desk warily. "Papa, a murder case?"

He nodded in reply.

"I can see why you reacted so suddenly to the case…" He pulled himself from his chair and walked towards me. "You are correct, the victims are, in fact…"

"B's parents.."

"I can allow you to keep this with you, but I think you know you can't take Hope's file with you…"

"Wait, take it with me where?" I growled, crossing my around the file. "Oh I see. L doesn't need me at the moment, so I'm being sent back, aren't I?"

"No, Shadow. Don't jump to conclusions like that. You will be returning, don't worry, girl." he wrapped an arm around me and hugged me gently. "L wants you to stay here. You're very useful in our investigation."

"No he doesn't…" My eyes became fuzzy and shook violently behind tears. "He'll send me back, and then I probably won't see him again."

"Shadow.." Watari clenched onto my shoulders firmly. "You'll be coming back, I promise. L is just a bit concerned about your safety-"

"Oh please! And I'm not concerned for his!" I pummelled his hands away. "L is in more danger than anyone here, because if Kira gets his scent at all, he'll directly attack him. And then what use am I? And I'm 80% sure that Light is the first Kira as it is, so he's definitely a goner!"

"S, don't get upset. L always puts his life on the line."

"And I don't?" I spoke angrily through bitter tears. Alas, Watari was speechless, staring sadly at me like a kicked puppy. "I'll take on the case, Papa. But just know that you aren't getting rid of me that easily." I stormed towards Watari's little desk, taking Hope's file and crumpling it up in my hands and tossing it in the waste paper bin. "I'll let you burn it…" I swallowed, and left the room as quick as I could walk.

I sauntered around the corridor for a while longer, regaining my calm posture, until a familiar looking pale-faced man wondered lazily down the corridor. "Shadow?" L said, a look of boredom glazing itself across his dark eyes. "Is there something wrong?"

"Ah, um- no. But…" L's blank facial expression distracted me, listening carefully to what I had to say. "Watari has a case for me to do back in England…" to my surprise, L's empty eyes filled with an emotion other than boredom. Disappointment?

"For how long?"

"Only about a week or so- don't worry." His lost look of a child fell sadly to his feet. "Perhaps not even that- I want to dedicate as much time as I can to the Kira Investigation."

"Ok, just stay safe and keep contact with us." he mumbled, scratching behind his ear lightly. "And don't be gone too long."

"Why? Will you miss me?" Trying to break the awkward tension with a joke, I only built up more when I didn't receive an answer. He hastily lifted a hand and dropped it onto my shoulder.

"I'll be seeing you soon." He massaged my shoulder lightly, before retreating to Watari's office.

As I walked back to my room to pack for my memorable business trip to Winchester, Matsuda rushed towards me excitedly. I stopped, narrowing my eyes, as his speed didn't seem to decrease as he ran towards me. Realising I wouldn't have time to dodge the rushing Matsuda, I braced myself for impact. He braked, his feet tripping over one another until he fell clumsily into my arms. "M-Matsu?" He blushed, regaining his weak composure and smiling anxiously at me.

"Shadow! What a surprise!" His voice broke.

"Not as such," I smirked, smoothing the creases made in his suit. "You _did _come running straight at me."

"Ah, well, you see-" he coughed, covering the sheer embarrassment he had cast upon himself. "Well, Misa and Light want to leave the building and go to the bar a few blocks away from here so I have to stay with them but the is I don't really want to go on my own so I was !" he gasped for air urgently, and I smiled sadly up at him.

"Oh Matsu, I'd love to, but-"

"Really? That's great!" He laughed nervously, his shaky smile growing wide and all the more anxious. "Huh? But…?"

"I have a case, so I need to start packing for my flight tomorrow." His face dropped, resembling the same look that L was expressing only minutes beforehand. His big, deep set eyes hurting with rejection. _It wouldn't hurt to spend a little time with Matsuda. He's been working so hard lately. _

_No. I can't What about L? _My conscience counter attacked itself. _L seems to be warming up to me again- I can't let this opportunity slide like so. _

_But he'll hurt you again. _I frowned, there was always that likely possibility. _You've dedicated your life to L… So going out just once wouldn't cause any harm, would it? _

Would it?

"How about a rain check?" I smiled up at Matsuda. "I'll only be gone a few days… Can you ask them to post-pone it until I get back?" He glanced down at me delightedly, and wrapped both arms around me into an excited hug.

With terrified eyes, my head slammed into the side of his neck. _What is he doing! _I nudged gently at his ribs to encourage him to release me, but nonetheless he nuzzled even further into the space between my neck and shoulder. "Thanks! I'll ask right away." he pushed me away softly, but still had a confident grip on my thin upper arms. "I'll see you soon, then!"

"B-bye?" I stammered as he let go and rocketed back in the direction he came from. I fast-walked to my room hurriedly realising how little time I had left to pack for my early flight. I briskly opened the door and whisked inside. "BWARK!" I screamed, my foot catching something as I dramatically fell to the floor. My knee rubbed against rough carpet as I banged into the side of the bed. _What the-? _I massaged my stinging knee, looking over at the black little suitcase parked neatly in front of my door. I stumbled over, ripping th e little tag of the side and reading it:

_Shadow!_

_You didn't let Misa-Misa know that you were going away for a few days! Now who's gonna look after Matsu while me and Light… *tehe* ;) What happened to Ryuzaki anyway! I thought you were an item? Anyway, Misa-Misa got you a little present to take with you. Ciao! _

_Misa + Light-kun~ 3_

I laughed, grabbing hold of the suitcase's handle and dragging it over to the bed. I unclipped and unzipped the case lid and was bewildered by a full suitcase of Misa's new clothing line: _Misa-Misa Chic! _I pulled out bits of lace fabrics and leather materials out form the case. "Please tell me this isn't underwear…" Very stringy pieces of thin cloth. It was, indeed, under garments. Of different colours and patterns; accompanied by a matching bra that Misa had somehow got the exact measurements for. It was all the while abnormal that Misa had managed to retrieve all this for me in the space of an hour or so.

Strange girl. But I wasn't going to waste time dwelling on that thought.

I folded the clothes I had taken out back into their original place. One thing I knew for sure was that Light had put these clothes in. No offence to Misa, but she lacked the precision and patience to prepare a suitcase so expertly packed…

As I finished up placing everything where it had been put before, I cringed. The loud knelling of tubular bells gonged outside. "Weird…" I muttered aloud. "They seem strangely out of tune…"

* * *

**[Seven Years Earlier, LA]**

"_So, sugar. What are we doing next?" _Ryuk followed closed behind me, his wings sprawled out on either side of me like a large protective shield.

"I guess we'll settle for a while." I sighed, flipping the hood of my jacket over my head and forcing my hands into the pockets. "Since Lawliet keeps any evidence of him existing scarce, he's going to be hard to track down. It's a waste of time if we start looking for him now." I pulled my hand out with a roll of American quarters approaching the phone box across the overcrowded streets of LA. "Sooner or later, L will get a case. So we need to keep record of any unusual cases L would take interest in…"

"_Lawliet? Heh, that's a freaky name." _

"Whatever." I snarled, gaining a few concerned looks from the flocks of working-class citizens flooding around me. I felt nauseous, crowds of clueless, vulnerable people strolled by with out a car in the world. Completely unaware the emptying hourglass passing each grain of sand down to the bottom, until the top remained empty. Children passing by with their mothers, some with many years ahead of them , and some doomed to face the end.

The sudden realisation of how lucky people were not to hold such power depressed me. I realised how privileged I was to be so incompetent, and regretted ever wanting to explore the theories of life and death. Of heaven and hell.

Because the blunt truth that everyone seemed to deny was that after death… was nothing. Emptiness. A world where your life ceased to exist.

And that is when your life as a Shinigami begins.

"Ryuk." I beckoned him. He leaned forward in front of me, his head dangling upside down that was in it's usual still expression. "I can't see me own life-span… Why?"

"_Nobody with the Shinigami eyes can see their own life-span. Not just you, Sugar. Heh."_

"So… Can you see it?" He grunted softly, lifting his head back up.

"_No." _

I sighed.

Talking about it just made me wonder when his time would be up. And would I live to surpass that?

Am I a Shinigami?

"I hate these eyes." I expressed openly to Ryuk. "All the trouble they've caused already, all the new emotion they've mustered up… I hate it."

"_Heh, you'll learned to love them."_

"Oh please." Like I would believe him. "Hey Ryuk,"

"_I liked you better when you didn't talk in public." _

"Where are my eyes?"

"_What?" _

"Well, these aren't my eyes. So I'm guessing you either gave these eyes up to the original owner of the eyes I currently have, or you chucked them."

"_None of your business," _he bared his teeth. _Did I scrape a nerve? _I remained silent as we reached the phone box. I walked inside, flicking a few coins into the phone and dialling the number on the back of my hand: Los Angeles, Downtown Apartments..

Over the next few years, there was no development in the search of L. Ryuk eventually disappeared, leaving me alone to live in my apartment. Apparently, my life was 'a lot more boring than he had imagined'. After that, I had a couple of people move in with me; an older couple that attended a nearby university. Surprised by my age, they were reluctant in moving in at first. But they warmed up to me and my strange ways if dealing with things, and moved in all their furniture. We got along fine, but I wouldn't classify us as friends.

About a year after that, news reports and tabloids began to fill with news of the new god of the new world: Kira. Panic arose, everyone dreading that soon they would be victimised by him for their sins. That he would hunt them down until he had recreated a 'perfect world'. We all huddled together watching the Japanese news across 'Good Morning America'. Slowly, a broad, muscular figure that bulged through his light blue suit stepped towards a podium centred in the middle of the screen.

"_-Good evening Kira.-" _he confidently growled from the back of his throat. _"- I am L-" _

I stood suddenly, flinging my arms into the air in shock.

My flight was scheduled for that night.

"Why are you leaving so suddenly?" Anya, the woman I was staying with, trembled. "You can't leave, we were getting along so well."

"It's important business, Anya." I buckled my backpack together tightly and swung it over my shoulders. "I'm sorry…" She sniffled softly hiding behind her long blonde fringe. I swept her fringe to the side gently; a large black bump pounded off her head. "Did he do this…?" I muttered, keeping a low tone. Anya needn't reply. It was astonishing to know that two lovers who had a perfect lifestyle and relationship, could be hiding behind false hopes.

"B-Ben? I got him angry it's all my-"

"Nonsense." I sighed. "Report him. Or I'll do it for you." She agreed to promptly. We bid our farewells, and I set off to find the person I had been waiting for years to emerge to the surface again. I sucked hard on a mint lollipop, smirking unwaveringly as I crossed the road and passed the phone box I was standing at years before.

I was going to be reunited once again.

* * *

"_Shinigami? You met one?"_

"_Yes"_

"_So you…. Have the eyes?"_

"_I…. Y-yeah."_

"_Interesting, I've never met one."_

"_Really?"_

"_Duh!"_

"_What do I do then?"_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_How do I get rid of them?"_

"_HAHAHAA… You think you can get rid of them? Ha, nope. Never. You're stuck with them for life._

_Well….BAH, never mind."_

"_What!"_

"_Well, there is one way I think…"_

* * *

**[Present Day, Winchester]**

"Just a word of warning, but Hope's very feisty. She may be confined to a bed, but she's not the type to let that get the best of her." Roger informed me. We strolled side by side down the hospital's lifeless corridors. Each ward reeked of latex; a doctor snapped their gloves onto their hands as he advanced into a patient's private ward.

"It's no problem, Roger. I'm used to dealing with awkward youngsters. Do you remember that case I worked with the six children some years ago?"

"Ah yes…" he mouthed, rubbing his rough calloused hands together. "I… I still can't believe you're alive, Shadow. The whole of Wammy's were devastated to learn about your passing."

"I had a feeling it would cause some controversy…" We edged slowly to the side, allowing the surgeons to pass through easily. They rolled the bed down into the elevator at the end of the hall, the woman in question, was masked, but her eyes were froze open staring unresponsively up at the ceiling. Roger heaved another sigh.

"That could have been Hope if it wasn't for Near." he disclosed, as we approached the chairs standing just outside Hope's room. "Mello won't be happy about that, for sure. Rather than asking of the two boys, I continued to poise towards the two teens sat indifferently outside her room. One boy was drenched in the colour black, unlike his lightly toned blonde hair, that was neatly combed down the middle, resembling the same cut of a young girl. The other had a more rebellious, but oddly fashionable, look. His hair was a delightful shade of red, that had been messed up by a big pair of what looked like swimming goggles wrapped around his forehead that tugged back at the strands of crimson. His clothes were casual, not including his oversized, fluffy, sleeveless jacket.

"Nice jacket…" I conversed. He snapped up his head startled, revealing a gameboy that had been cleverly hidden under his long fringe. "It's a bit big for you though, isn't it?" He shrugged lazily, half-smiling up at me.

"I'll grow into it." He eyed me up and down. "Hey Roger, who's the hot chick? She doesn't look like a doctor." I recoiled.

"Hot.. Chick?" I curbed, glancing worriedly at Roger. "I've travelled from Japan to assist Roger and the police in the investigation of Hope."

"You're British." The gothic blonde cut in. "And you're from Japan? Are you're working on L's case?" His blue eyes darted up at me. "The Kira case!" He blundered, causing some heds on the ward to turn.

"That's none of your concern. All that matter's at the moment is getting Hope of the hook, ok?" I conveyed, smiling politely down at the uptight teen. He nodded, and faced away from me.

"There's no point trying to step foot in there. Near and Hope are having a fucking love-fest."

"Mello!" Roger scolded him."Oh big deal! I was only letting her know!" He spat back angrily.

"No, I'm going in." I plainly stated, shoving the door open. Mello hissed, jumping up for his seat and closing the door again."I don't trust you. You haven't even told me your name yet." There was no way I was going to let some kid interfere with this investigation.

"It's irrelevant. Now let me through or I'll have to force you to get out of the way." I ducked under his arm and barged into the door. Regaining posture, I walked in and professionally approached the two figures on the bed. Within seconds of entering, the trio I had left outside spilled in dramatically.

"You're just another cop after Hope aren't you?" The redhead announced distressed.

"What? No, you've got it wrong…"

"OI. GUYS." The girl squalled, gaining the attention of everyone in the room. She flaunted her upper arms in annoyance, dropping a small box to the floor that bounced into a dark corner. A fat, ginger, striped feline rubbed against the tubes connecting with her chest pleasurably. "Any reason for barging into my room, lady? I'm busy."

"Busy?" I viewed the state of her clean white covers. Small toys were scattered over her legs, and the small white-haired boy next to her held a doll near to her face. I studied the boy a bit longer; he sat almost completely on the girl's lap, hunched over like a monkey with one leg dangling over the side of the bed. His eyes were like two black holes, void of any emotion. Just empty.

Like L's.

"Yeah. _Busy._" She insisted, taking the fussy cat into her arms and cradling it like a baby. "Besides, I don't have any more time for the pigs."

"I'm not a cop…" I sighed, rubbing my hands over my face tiredly. "I'm Shadow. I was assigned to your case by Watari yesterday, because you and I seem to have a lot more in common than you think."

"So you're working with Watari. That means you're working in the Kira investigation aside L." She assumed, patting the top of her cat's head.

"Correct." The boy on the bed squirmed, his eyes sparking with a sense of respect for a split second. "Are you Near?" I lowered myself down to his level.

"Yes. I'm Near." His hand slithered into his hair, exploring the white jungle of curls resting on top.

"And I'm Matt!" The redhead popped up in front of me like a jack in the box, grinning stupidly at me. "Free tonight?"

"Matt!" The girl flustered, smacking Matt on the head with her hand. "She's in her mid-twenties! Find someone your own age?"

"Yes, miss…" Matt playfully whimpered, pulling the goggles over his eyes and sinking his head down into his shoulders. "She's Hope, by the way. A major killjoy." he whispered. "Just kiddin'- she's WILD."

"That's nice to know…" I promenaded to the side of Hope, crossing my arms patiently in front me and addressing my audience. "Could you please al leave? So I can talk to Hope alone…"

"They're not going anywhere!" Hope bit off my hand. Cheers of 'Yeah!' could be heard from Mello and Matt. Roger slapped his hands on their shoulders, turning them around and leading them straight to the door. Near hopped off the bed and crept out of the room silently, shutting the door on his way out. Hope leaned down with the cat in her arms and released it to the ground. She softly pushed it into the cage at the bedside, and latched the door shut. It softly cried for a couple of minutes, but slowly the noise died out into silence.

I watched Hope climb the floor, using her hands, into the corner where the box had landed. Her body remained slumped in the bed as she dragged herself forward and pawed at the little black container. She closed her hand quickly around it, backing away back into bed. She laid back into the gigantic pillow behind her head, fiddling with the small box.

"What's that?" Seeing an opening for conversation.

"I don't know…" she replied quietly, looking down at it flat in her palms. "It was in my stuff when I moved to Wammy's. I just feel like it's a part of the life I used to lead before I…" she stopped, mid-sentenced.

"Before you forgot who you were."

"!" She held the box to her chest defensively. "Y-yeah." She looked down at her bedding with a shimmer of shame in her eyes. Little bits of plastic building blocks and action figurines fell into the creases in the covers.

"…Can I play?"

"No." She continued to look down at them. "I don't' like playing with the other girls…" she eerily replied. "They're evil. They act all innocent and dainty, when in all actuality they are the devil. They enjoy to see you in pain. They enjoy to _cause _that pain. They're just self-centred, attention-seeking, lying little WHORES that only care about 'how pretty they are today' and 'does that boy really like me' and 'OMG that girl over there is a bitch!' and I dislike having to be associated with such behaviour just because I am one…"

"Hope…" I croaked nervously. Her short, jet black hair did not move no matter how much she ranted on. It looked styled, but overgrown, so the spikes she had moulded into placed fell limp an heavily back down to her scalp. Her eyes were an unnatural, piercing green that would make her very noticeable in a room filled with people. Especially with the amount of eyeliner she had heavily, but artistically applied under and around her eyes. She was also very mature-looking for a girl of 14, but also a little on the big side (in my opinion). Her chest was bruised, and had wires spurting out of it in every direction, and a little cross dangled just over all of the tangled tubes providing her with medicine.

Although she was ill, and bedridden, you could see that this girl was a natural beauty.

And strange in every way, shape, and form.

"I would like to question you about some things… Is that alright?" I pulled the chair from the side of the bed across the floor and sat down silently next to her.

"I guess." she shyly confirmed.

"On the day you were brought to Wammy's, Roger discovered you in the memorial park in Winchester. What reasons can you provide as to going there?" Hope stared at me, unconvinced.

"That has nothing to do with the case." She _cleverly _pointed out the obvious. "But I'm not sure why… I just felt like going there."

"You… _felt _like it?" I was grasping at the ropes to pull this mystery to a close, however, Hope wasn't completely trusting my liability.

"_Yes. _And you know what else? I _feel _like you know nothing about what I'm facing here. I'm being accused of _murdering _a couple that as far as I'm concerned have _never _met. But yet, you're asking me about my involvement with a park that has nothing to do with the case?" She puffed out her chest and deeply breathed out, looking down at her cross. "Come back when you know more about the case. You've made it as clear as day that you only know the basic information to our current homicide. Then again, I'm not surprised, you had under a day's notice about the case… But this is messy work for someone working for this L guy, isn't it?"

"I-I guess…" Hope had stripped me of my pride as a detective. But her point was valid- I should have prepared my questions more carefully about the case and then asked about her past. There _must have _been a connection somehow between her amnesia and the murder. I stood up and strolled towards the briefcase I had dropped when tackling my way through Mello, and picked it up readying myself to leave. I twisted my head around and looked at Hope one last time. "Before I leave, I have one more question."

Whaaaaaaat?"

"Where did you travel _from_?"

"I don't know- I spent a while in Yorkshire before I came to Winchester. So probably around that area." I thanked her quickly, and left the room. As I walked out, Mello slammed something into the door.

I twirled around, watching Mello hold Near by the throat violently smashing him into the door. "You think you're number one! LOOK AT YOU. YOU'RE WEAK! Too weak to be hanging out with _Hope_!" he spouted in Near face. Near glared over at me, expecting me to do something. He didn't look frightened as such, but I don't think anyone would want the living daylights kicked out of them. I grabbed Mello by the collar, dragging him backwards like a ferocious dog.

"Look at you!" I shouted up at the significantly taller teenager. "You're supposed to be a successor for L! L promotes justice, not violence! Are you a criminal, Mello!" I grabbed Mello's face, squishing his cheeks together. He silenced himself, but bared his shiny white fangs at me. "Are you!"

"No." he gritted his teeth. "Why are you here?" he asked as I let go of his supple face.

"If you must know, Hope and I are in a similar situation. And Watari wanted me to handle the case because of that."

"Mello," Near called out softly to the blonde. "Do you remember how when L attended Wammy's, there was only one girl out of all of his successors?" He twisted a curl around his index fingers, crouching down to the floor. "Her alias was Shadow."

"Wha~?" Mello swallowed his words. He accepted Near's answer, slouching against the wall dispassionately. "Where did Matt go?"

"He went to check on Hope…" Near answered. The door opened slightly, allowing us to see a wisp of red hair through the gap.

"She's asleep," Matt whispered, bringing a finger to his lips. "So no more fighting guys, ok? And I don't think she's going to be awake anytime soon, Shadow so…"

"Fine." Mello groaned.

"I'll be leaving then. I have a lot more to look into about this case." I told Near, who had previously being staring up at me. "I'm tired anyhow. I had a long flight over here, and Hope isn't the nicest person to be dealing with."

"I don't understand." Near inquisitively glared at me. "Hope is the nicest person I know."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Intriguing…"

"Roger has prepared a room for you at Wammy's. He's waiting outside in the car if you would like to be taken back there." I smiled to myself. Roger knew that being back at Wammy's would make this trip a lot more enjoyable, so I paraded outside, spotted Roger's car, and earned a lift back to the house.

Roger escorted me to my temporary room next to Matt and Hope's in the orphanage, so that I could keep a closer eye on her when she was ready to be discharged. After that, Roger began patrolling the corridors and keeping an eye on the children. I threw my briefcase on the bed and lazily bounced next to it. _This is going to be a lot more work than I imagined. _I stretched out and plopped the briefcase on my lap, opening it, and pulled out a blue lap top.

"Time to do some homework." I rubbed my hands together anticipated, and began hacking into the local police station's documents, coming up short. I searched newspaper articles dating back to the time of the incident, but had no luck. As my investigation continued, I learnt that the couple that had been murdered had two missing children. One that I suspected to be Beyond, and the other was a little girl that would approximately be fourteen of fifteen years of age. The boy, however, had been missing years before the murder. Whereas the little girl had gone missing the day of the murder. "The murder happened four years ago… Which means Beyond was in LA when it happened. It would also make Hope about 10 years old… Well, the ages match…" I yawned, and naturally glanced down at the clock on the desk top. It was 12: 30am. "Better rest so I'm healthy for tomorrow." I told myself, shutting down the lap top and crawling into bed fully-clothed.

I turned a lot, attempting to get comfy. The bed was old, and the springs were giving way under me and springing into my back. I began to retrace my whole day through my head again in boredom. _Hope's little outburst today was indeed strange. Especially after the conversation with Near I had. _I grabbed the pillow from under my head and squeezed it in my arms.

The image of Hope's toxic green eyes had burned to my memory, along with her in a whole. That was when I realised: abnormal eye colouring, hair as black as matter, and not the most sane person on the planet all circled around another person other than Hope…

Beyond.

Hope is Beyond's sister. And I have no doubt about that.

* * *

"_You'll have to find **her**."_

"_Who's 'her'?"_

"_I think you'll find out soon enough, Hnehh."_

* * *

**[Hope's P.O.V]**

"_Remember me? Hneheh….. I'm dead now!"_

"_What? Who are you?"_

"_Oh come on! You were 8 when I left! You can't have forgotten me so easily…. Hneh."_

"_You sound familiar… But I don't know…"_

"_Awwwwh, big bro is sad now! Hnehhh,,, I heard you killed Mom and Dad. Good job!"_

"_I didn't kill anyone! That girl wasn't me!"_

"_I wouldn't be so sure… You didn't deserve them eyes. You were irresponsible. And the NOTEBOOK- well! Well guess what now, lil' sis? I'm a Shinigami, just like the one you had…"_

"_I had a Shinigami? … Ryu-ryu…."_

"_Now you remember! Must be that thing you have in your hands… Hneh."_

"_The little box?"_

"_Maybe you should take a look inside… You might be in for a treat_

**_Sweet dreams, Hayley."_**

* * *

"**!"** I flailed my arms high into the air, wafting them side to side. I wanted to escape, I wanted the memories to stay repressed deep inside my conscience. My heart pounded against my ribs, I couldn't draw any breath in.

Was I dying?

No.

I had a bloody panic attack.

Once I had controlled my breathing, I lifted my knees to my face and wept into them. _For all of it to come back at once, it's traumatising… _I snorted, muffling my cries with the covers. _I just want to go back to sleep… _

Suddenly, a soft hand brushed across my face. "Should I come back later?" the person asked.

**"!"** I howled, shutting my eyes and began to kick and scream. "GOAWAYGOAWAYGOAWAY!"

"…Ok…"

"WAHHH… Wait, what?" I dipped my head to the side and into the pillow facing the voice. It was Near, looking wide-eyed into my face. "Near! What on earth are you doing sneaking up on me like that! You almost gave me a freaking heart attack in a bloody hospital! I mean, it's bad enough I'm here in the first place but to scare me into staying here longer is just MEAN NYAHHH YOU'RE SO MEAN!" I coughed, choking on what I thought was my own vomit. I smacked my hands into my mouth, spluttering violently. I looked at my hands and squealed. Blood speckles.

Was I dying?

No!

It's apparently normal after the surgery I had!

"Are you done now?" Near logically asked, keeping a little distance. I nodded, feeling the colour flush from my face.

"S-sorry…" I blushed, grabbing the sheets from the bed and covering my face to shield myself from further embarrassment. "Nightmare…"

"I gathered."

"Did I miss anything while I was asleep?" Near shook his head, and mustered up a stack of cards out of nowhere, proceeding to create a house of cards.

"Shadow left hours ago. She's staying at Wammy's for the time being until she can get you proven 100% innocent." He placed a card onto the first two triangles he had created, they're placement not disturbed even by a millimetre. "I already know you're innocent."

"What? How?" I asked, in disbelief. Although my amnesia had faded off, I was certain that I was innocent. To be honest, I only just escaped with my own life. But the same question always haunted me from the moment I regained my memory.

Who _did _kill my parents?

"It's simple really…" He began to build the second shelf of the house of cards carefully. "Even if you are the daughter of the two that were murdered, it couldn't have been you." He placed the deck of cards aside him, looking confidently up at my from the floor. "The murder victims were slaughtered into pieces, disembowelled, and shot expertly in the left chamber of the heart. During the incident, you, or rather, the girl, would have been 10 years old. I may not have solid proof, but I really doubt a preteen is capable of carrying out a perfect murder. There weren't even any fingerprints left on the scene. Only the husband's."

"Then isn't that enough to proof me innocent?"

"No."

"Of course not…" Slowly, the cogs in my brain began to turn. "It's not solid proof. And the police can't just go off assumptions. They could argue that there was an accomplice, or anything. And although it's unlikely for a ten year old girl to do all that, it's still possible. And, plus, the girl would have had more of a motive." I watched Near progress in building his tower momentarily. "We need to start from the beginning… Examining all the evidence, and configuring different motives for different people. I mean, it's obvious this person must harbour a grudge for the victims, otherwise they wouldn't have killed them in such a gruesome matter and not killed again. It would also be sensible to check for alibis."

"However, Shadow is determined to find out who you are first." Near debated. "It's also sensible to do that, because then if you are not the girl in question, you're ruled out as a suspect instantaneously. And if you are, it allows her to investigate further into your life and into the investigation…"

"True…" I agreed, burying my head into my pillow. "She said that she's connected to me in more ways then I know it… What does she mean?"

"…" Near didn't acknowledge me, standing up and placing the last two cards on top of the house of cards. I nuzzled further into my pillow, observing Near a little closer. "Hope."

"Yeah?"

"Do you happen to remember anything before you collapsed… As in, before you collapsed _on me."_ His back stayed facing the door as he crouched back down to his original level.

"Only you screaming for help. Why?"

"Ah…" A speck of disappointment crumbled somewhere in his voice. "It doesn't matter." he mumbled. No words fell between us for the next few minutes. He hovered over my bed, scooping bits of colourful lego blocks and green little soldiers gradually into a bag he had brought. I grabbed a few hands full and let them go over the fabric bag.

My hand and his hand collided, collecting the last piece on my blue bed covers. Our hands stopped, and minimal effort was made to move away. Soon, we realised our position, and Near picked up the last little soldier. "Last man standing, huh?" I joked, gaining a small smile from the white haired child.

"12?" he asked hopefully looking up at me from the side of my bed. I laughed softly, and touched his shoulder in response.

"Sure." I grinned. He stood up in a slouch and poised towards my door gradually. "Near.."

"What is it, Hope?" He spoke with a little voice.

"Why are you so sure I'm not the killer? It just seems so strange that you would go on a hunch…"

"…Because I know you better than that, Hope. And I know that you're too much of a good person to t=een dream of hurting another like so…" He reached for the handle, and mumbled something else before he left. "You're an angel."

I smiled a lot after he left.

I took a second glance down at the little box I had concealed between the covers the whole time. I knew what was in it now, so I opened it just to be secure as to whether I had it or not. I removed the little lid- yup- inside was no other than the 'Death Eraser' Ryu-Ryu had presented me with.

Of course, that had been designed to erase names from the death note, as if they had never died. But what concerned me was where my death note Ryu-Ryu had gone to now. I hadn't used it, only once on a man with only minutes to spare on his life span, just to see if it was the real deal. And it was. But, after I had been stripped of my memory of the death note, and any other memory before that, Ryu-Ryu had taken the book away from me so that I wouldn't encounter it again.

My thoughts wondered back to the strange woman that was here- Shadow. I wasn't sure why, but her presence itself seemed to be increasingly odd as she spoke to me. Roger seemed to be surprised to see her when they had both been in my room at the same time. I couldn't shake the feeling that maybe she was hiding more than the actual reason shy she is here.

I just got this strange aura of death emitting off of her.

All I know is that once we met, the ringing sound in my ears hasn't gone away.

* * *

**[Tokyo, Special Task Force Headquarters]**

**[L's P.O.V]**

Under the dimming lights of the lounge, I interpreted the results the Task Force had collected for me on the deaths of CEOs and other important businessmen. I rubbed my sore, blackening eyes, being yet again the only person, other than Watari, to be working the late hours at the HQ. The pain in my head only surfaced that evening, but it continued to worsen throughout the night, resulting in myself working outside of my regular territory.

I hunched over my knees, scanning the graphs and other data in the blink of an eye. Kira was only becoming less responsible in his killings, and it was leading us closer to the third Kira with each step. However, Kira had not killed in almost a week now, being under my orders not to kill anyone for the next month. My suspicions landed mainly on Kyosuke Higuchi, because of his irresponsible behaviour with the girls in Misa's room. I had planned to set up an interview with Misa and her new 'assistant', played by Shadow.

They were unaware of what I was setting up for them, but I were to let them know as soon as Shadow arrived from England again. Watari tiredly took a seat next to me on the couch, two cups of steaming hot coffee in either hand. "Here you go, Ryuzaki." he sighed in relief, resting my cup and saucer on the table and taking a long, refreshing gulp of coffee into his system,

"Watari, I don't think I have much time left before I die." I awkwardly blurted out. "The investigation is progressing well, but I believe that in order for this case to be solved, I might just have to sacrifice my own life to do so."

"Please don't talk like that, sir. What if Shadow were to hear you talking like that?" he questioned me with sad eyes set on me.

"I am only stating a mere fact. I don't have long, Watari." I sipped my coffee, not pleased with its bitter taste, and added another five more cubes into my 'elixir'.

"Well, what will happen to Shadow one you're gone? Is there still going to be a wedding?"

"I doubt very much so, Watari. I have already told her this…" I began to organise the graphs into a neat pile in the middles of the table. "I am unsure as to how I will come around telling her about my near death, but I do not want to marry her if I am going to be dead in less than a month as it stands. It will only crush her, and I don't want that."

"I see, sir…"

"However, Shadow's protection is vital." I divulged, catching Watari's attention a bit more. "What S has done in the passed seven years is insignificant to this case, but her safety means almost as much as this case does."

"May I ask why?" His rubbed at his moustache, glancing straight into the side of my head.

"Because S is the next L." I shared with Watari.

My time spent with Shadow since I discovered she was still alive had been a very memorable experience. An experience that I would have loved to have shared with her for a lot a longer than I had planned to. The truth was that I had been wanting to declare something for her since the week she returned from her seven year absence.

But I couldn't. There was no point allowing another person to be a large part of my life if I was going to die.

I always pondered the possibility of what could have happened if I had not put marriage onto the table, or if she rejected the idea so many years ago. The LABB Killings would have most likely never happened, and Shadow would have lived to walk down the aisle, but not to be betrothed to me.

But to Beyond.

The LABB Killings were indeed a life-changing experience for me, and Beyond should have not committed the crimes he did. But given the choice of whether I preferred to have Beyond or Kira in the world,

I'd pick Beyond every time. Beyond was mentally unsound and in effect was not responsible for his own actions. He wanted to challenge me, and that is what he got. A battle. Kira, however, is completely aware of what he is doing to the world and isn't carrying out all these killings for any specific reason other than to rid criminals of the world by being one. Which was ludicrous in itself. And I was 89% sure that Light would end up being Kira in the end, but I failed to gather the proof to prove my theory correct..

That is why I want to die. Because once the part of L is passed onto Shadow, I believe that my death will provide her with all the answers she desires. And she's always being more capable of thinking beyond the lines than I have.

I just wished I had a little while longer.

"Is there anything you would like to eat to cure that sinking feeling?" Watari offered spontaneously. I nodded, feeling reminiscent.

"Could you fetch me a jar of strawberry jam please?"

Taken aback of my request, he rushed to the kitchen and into the refrigerator.

"Any guideline as to when Shadow will be returning?" I called out to him, He arrived with a unopened jar of Hartley's strawberry jam, and shook his head.

"She hasn't specified what day she will be returning, but she said a few days." I nodded accepting her rational answer to my question. But the real question was: Will that be a few days too late?

I'll let the odds decide.

* * *

**R&R me if you want more :P **


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